"Mum is the girliest of them all, but she ended up with me, the tomboy." - Katarina Johnson-Thompson

I'm the baby of my family, and I mean really the baby. My brother is eleven years older than me (we have the same birthday, it's pretty rad) and all of my cousins are around his age. I was undoubtedly a "pleasant surprise" as my mum says. There are only two girls on my mums side, it's me and one of my cousins. Otherwise we have all boys. You can only imagine how I was brought up. From day one I was a total tomboy. I loved playing with my brother's old toys: G.I. Joe's, lego's, his old train set. I loved all of it. Don't get me wrong, I had my barbies too, but I would cut their hair and ruin them, so that says a little bit about how much I actually liked them.

When I could, I would do things with my brother as much as possible. Even though he was so much older than me, I thought everything that he did was so cool. Whether it was washing the car, sitting outside while he mowed the lawn or running to the hardware store with him to pick up a part he needed to fix the bathroom sink, I loved it.

As I've grown up, the tomboy "phase" never really left me, but I'd say it became much more refined. I am still just as much of a tomboy as I always was. I played sports in high school and let volleyball take over my entire life. Now, in college, although I don't play D1, my tomboy ways are still just as prominent as they used to be. I would rather wear Converse than heels (AND I liked Converse before they were back in style), I still live in leggings and comfy sweatshirts- although I thrown in the occasional flannel and I could out-eat a good number of boys if I really wanted to.

Although I do wear makeup, I'm in a sorority and I sometimes care what my hair looks like, I think my tomboy tendencies outweigh those aspects and I'm proud of it. Growing up I was always dressed in pink or in girly clothes- socks with lace. Come ON. But the person that i've grown up to be has tougher skin than some other girls who maybe weren't exposed to the "rough stuff" that I was. Or maybe because of my less girly personality, I have a good connection with both girls and boys, whereas some girls may not be able to do that as easily. I am not afraid of taking risks, I am not afraid to be an individual and I am not afraid to be proud of the fact that pink isn't my favorite color and I don't like to wear dresses that often. Being a tomboy has been a blessing and I am grateful for it. Adventuring, exploring, watching sports (and understanding them) and enjoying being the gritty person that I am shapes me as a person and I have my tomboy personality to thank for that.