Before I could walk

I learned to talk

But I didn’t learn to speak my own words

I learned to care what others heard

And what they thought I was

 

I learned to rhyme and tell time and sit and behave

I learned to act in a girlish “damsel” way

Cross my legs, close my mouth, open my ears,

I learned to be nice was to bottle away all my fears.

 

I was taught that “tough” was only for boys

I was taught that I could only partake in feminine joys

I was taught so many “right” things that were wrong all along

But still I sang to the tune of their song

Never once questioning why

 

Until… I did.

 

I began to wonder, and ponder, and ruminate, and beg

Until I realized that what I’ve got between my legs

Was the big problem

 

As if that made me less?

My heart became a mess,

And I began to question everything I knew.

 

Should I be weak?

Should I be meek?

Should I be anything they want?

Should I please them?

Should I act dim?

Should I let them taunt…

Me?

 

Me.

I never had that word in my thoughts before,

Always assuming that by myself I’d be a bore,

But there I stood, unlearning everything

Questioning my very being

Wondering if maybe I could be me

 

I wondered who I was,

And the answers came to me, all abuzz:

 

Independent, defiant, liberal, kind!

Intelligent, driven, a waste of no one’s time!

Altruistic, artistic, musically gifted!

Silly, Funny, my spirit is lifted!

 

My voice, my words,

Never before did I think they could be heard

And never again will I shut my mouth

Never again will my words freeze and not come out

No matter what they taught me to be

No one will teach me how to be me

No one can tell me to be a certain way

And if they try, I’ll tell them to watch me misbehave

 

I learned who I was without those limits

Without worries or cares of what being a girl inhibits

I learned to walk with my head held high

I learned to walk with a proud, long stride

Truth be told, I love all that I am

And if you don’t like that, I just don’t give a damn.