You cannot please everyone. You will get criticized. People can be rude and judgmental. However, girls, especially teenage girls, get criticized for everything they do or don't do. Young girls get teased for liking what they like, and I think it's because women are generally thought of as the second gender and so some people cannot and do not take young girls seriously, as if their ideas or thoughts aren't real. Young boys don't get ridiculed for everything they do or everything they like.
As if it wasn't hard enough being a teenage girl--going through hormonal changes, having insecurities and trying to find yourself--now being ridiculed for having any interest in anything at all. It's not fair that someone feels embarrassed or worried about being ridiculed for wearing Uggs or drinking Starbucks. It's not fair that someone feels embarrassed or judged for having a political opinion or not having a political opinion.
And when it comes to having sex, Ally Sheedy from "The Breakfast Club" said it best, "Well, if you say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have you're a slut. It's a trap. You want to but you can't, and when you do you wish you didn't, right?"
Being female is tough from the very start. "Boys will be boys" allows young boys to "play" however they like without restrictions or judgments, but "act like a lady" restricts young girls in what they do and in how they behave. "He's a growing boy" allows adolescent boys to eat however much they like, but "watch your figure" restricts adolescent girls about what they eat and may even promote eating disorders.
Once a woman gets a job with a salary, she'll get paid less than men get paid. And now, girls can't even like stuff without rude responses. WTF?! It would be extremely difficult to try to find yourself and understand who you are if all of your decisions are based off what will not get made fun of. A lot of people would be much happier if they were allowed to be themselves without feeling bad or embarrassed about it.
At the end of the day, someone will criticize you, so fudge it. Do what you want. It doesn't matter; someone will judge you, but that only shows insecurity from that person. Secure and confident people don't make an effort to rudely judge other people, so if you're being criticized, that says more about the other person than it does about yourself. You are amazing. Do not forget that.
