I remember when I was little that I didn't have a care in the world. I proudly wore my pigtails with little accent ribbons tied into my hair band as I ran around the lilac bushes in my grandmother's backyard. She would watch me from the kitchen window as I weaved in and out of the bushes and then tell me how fast I was. Once I was done running, I would pick some of the lilacs and my grandma would put them in a vase for me. Things are different now.

I don't run between the lilac bushes anymore without a care in the world. Instead, I post things onto social media hoping that I get over 100 likes on my Instagram picture. I wake up early, sparing extra sleep, just to straighten my hair and find the perfect outfit for the day. I walk nervously to class, afraid that my V-neck shirt is too low or that my jeans are too tight - or not tight enough. I hang out with a guy from class because I think he's a genuine person, but instead I realize he only wanted to hang out for something that I didn't want.

Being a woman in our society is a lot harder than it seems, and it only seems to be getting more difficult. It feels as though our society expects a lot from us young women, whether we're in high school, college, or even if we're in our 30's. There is so much pressure to look a certain way or to be into a certain fashion trend. There is pressure to be perfect for whoever it is we date or marry. Well, boys, I'm sorry to inform you that I don't have an a** like Kylie Jenner and that I don't have a face like Halle Berry. When did becoming a woman become so difficult? I look around to find a guy staring at my body rather than my face. I see boys comparing one girl to another. I've even been cat called when trying to pay attention at rugby practice. That is not a compliment.

For those of you who still may not understand what it is that I'm talking about - that would be you, boys, if you haven't left this page yet - I wrote a poem a while back that I thought I'd share. It, in a way, depicts how it can feel to be a girl growing up in the world today...

I am an object,

I am not a woman.

I am not gorgeous, nor poise, or envious

I am hot, sexy, a slut,

All or none of the above.

I am just a mirror of your dreams that

You wish would become a reality

As you bump your friend's elbow

So you can evaluate me on a scale from

One to ten.

I am something

Or I am nothing.

I am not a personality or a smile,

I am a body for your own pleasure.

I am not the history in a textbook that empowers woman,

I am the girl whose clothes give you unvoiced consent

That you plan to use against me as you place a

Red solo cup into my fragile hand.

I am not the girl who has big dreams of working in the city,

I am the girl you’ll settle for when the hotter one is taken by another boy.

I am not the woman I was raised up to be,

Instead, I am just a play thing whose value is placed upon her ability to hold her liquor.

I am something

Or I am nothing.

I am not a woman,

I am an object.