Innocence

This past week I've been hanging out with a few 10 year olds. On Saturday I saw my cousin and yesterday I hung out with my "little sister." These two little girls are very different in almost every sense of the word. One's athletic and active; the other prefers to stay at home with her family. They're pre-teens and soon they'll be reaching puberty. As of now, they're still not interested in boys or makeup or nail polish except that it looks cool. They don't NEED this stuff like girls in high school and women need it. "I won't go anywhere without make up on" is a commonly heard phrase.

What I'm trying to say is...they're innocent...and I like it.

My little sis told me yesterday that the boys at school say she's a tough girl because most of the girls are really girly and prissy. She likes to ride horses and doesn't mind getting dirty. She's a little bit like me -- outspoken, opinionated, and is a "tough girl." But every time I go over to her house she plays with my hair or paints my nails and we do these "girly" things. My cousin is similar. She's shy but she likes to do things her way. "Who would ever want a boyfriend?!" is something she commonly asks me.

These little girls have something that I wish most girls continued to have throughout their lives -- the courage to be who they are. They don't know who else to be at this point -- they don't have boys and other girls telling them to be a certain way to be "cool." They're just them.

But of course, they're still insecure about some thing on their bodies, because that's what society tells us we should be. I feel for these two little 10 year olds. Once they reach middle school they don't stand much of a chance...none of us did, and few remain themselves. I guess that's how I want this to trickle down into the younger generation. You CAN be yourself and do all of the things you've always loved and still fit in.

She didn't have to change or prove anything to anyone: