A Little Something Sweet

When I was in fifth grade, my favorite activity was swinging on my school’s swing set. At this age, my parents had me playing soccer and basketball, as well as taking piano lessons. In soccer, I received a trophy with the other team members that our very nice coach had taken the time to engrave with personal messages, such as, “Best Goalie”, or “Strongest Fullback”. Mine read, “Most Potential”… And in basketball, I was always being told to be more aggressive. During piano lessons, I never really understood why I should learn the notes when it seemed much simpler to follow the little numbers above the notes. I was that kid who was too afraid to ride on roller coasters, I ran away from the soccer ball more times than I ran toward it, and I cried the first time I shoved someone to the ground in basketball. I was a girly girl. I was not a tomboy.