Before entering college I think I was a jaded New Yorker as well as a jaded high school student. I thought I knew it all and I thought that I was a person who was very politically active. I believed that I was very aware of social justice issues that were surrounding me and that I was doing the very best that I could to enact change.

I have always been a feminist, however being in a women's college has allowed me to realize that even as a strong woman who whole-heartedly believed in feminism and women and men's equality, I had succumbed subconsciously to patriarchal standards throughout high school. When I initially began to realize this, I was simultaneously embarrassed and shocked. I thought that I had been very aware.

I was living in a bubble, unaware that allowing men and the administration of my high school, including specific female teachers as well, dictate what I wore and how I acted in school, and as a result outside of school as well, had caused me to succumb to a very patriarchal mindset. I had a teacher ask me why I was wearing what I was wearing, she asked me if I wanted to give men a certain idea about me because of my low cut dresses and sheer tops. My initial reaction was angry, however, I began to slowly think that maybe she was right which now angers me. I wish I had stood up for myself more in high school and understood that the power of women is much stronger than we are often aware of.

I am now realizing this as I am entering the final month of my first year at Bryn Mawr, and I couldn't be more grateful. I had not been aware that I could be a stronger woman who could defend herself with more confidence. However, I have found that being here, at Bryn Mawr, has reaffirmed my confidence in my own strength. I am very proud of the progress I have made in regards to asserting my power as a woman both in Bryn Mawr and outside of the Bryn Mawr bubble.

Sometimes I wish I could go back to my high school and tell off the people who made me feel lesser for wearing what I was wearing but I realize that that would do no good. I have become stronger in realizing that people are threatened by seeing a woman's body because of the patriarchal society we live in. The people who told me off were ignorant and wrapped up in this social system and I'll allow them to stay in their ignorance because they should eventually learn for themselves that they are jaded, just like I was.