Growing up, I was hands-down one of the biggest tomboys. As an only child in a rural town, I found myself having to get creative with my free time. Rather than spending the day playing with Barbies or fussing with my hair, I favored days spent outside playing softball or exploring the woods.
To this day, I still consider myself a “tomboy.”
I lean toward living a simple, low-maintenance lifestyle that is inspired by the days of my youth.
I typically cut my hair off when it gets too long because I hate to waste my time styling it.
I rarely wear makeup because I don’t see the point.
I wear the same kind of thing every day — yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, moccasins —because I have no sense of style and definitely no patience to go shopping.
I get restless when I am stuck inside too long because I would much rather be out exploring.
I’m a dud in conversation when it has to deal with fashion, makeup, hair or anything of that nature because I don’t care to learn about it.
Although it may seem that being a tomboy made me limited, I see it as quite the opposite; I feel liberated.
See, growing up as a tomboy made me recognize early on in life that I can't and will not be constrained by a definitive gender role. Even though society expected me to love pink, idolize Strawberry Shortcake and play dress up with the other girls, my parents allowed me the freedom of making my own choices, ones that left me playing softball throughout my childhood, jumping in the rain puddles after a big storm and riding my four-wheeler around the neighborhood.
It wasn’t until I had gotten to middle school, I began to question who I was and if I fit the mold of an ideal girl. My hair was growing out of its awkward post-pixie-cut stage, I started developing a more feminine body and boys were starting to look less like friends and more like crushes. I didn’t feel as though I was ready to leave my tomboy nature behind, and as I cycled through different phases throughout middle school and high school, I lost the sense of self I had cultivated as a child.
Once I was in college and could reflect back on my younger self with enough critical distance, I realized it is OK to be a tomboy. It’s OK to embrace my ability to shrug off the petty things and focus on the more important things in life. It’s OK to throw my hair up in a ponytail when I don’t feel like wasting time. It’s OK to not wear makeup because how we look doesn’t define who we are as women.
I am independent. I am strong. I don’t need the attention of others to justify who I am. I am bold. I am beautiful. I am liberated. I am a tomboy, and I am proud of it.
