I grew up in the middle of two brothers, extremely close in age. My older brother and I are Irish Twins-siblings with the same parents and are the same age for a short period of time. My younger brother was born a year later. Some would say this is what influenced my tomboyish nature. Not according to my mom, however. She said she knew from the second I was born that I would be her most difficult child, no matter how many more kids she had. When I was born, I didn’t cry. I glared around the room at everyone, already pissed off for no reason. Mama’s know things about their children before these traits even come to light. She said that I was given two brothers so they could handle my fierce attitude because one surely wouldn't have survived me.

For the most part, it ended up being true. I was already tough, and their expected brotherly antics only made me tougher. When I was five I asked my brother to give me a push so I could do a back flip while swinging from a pole. I'd just learned these in the safe confines of gymnastics class, but I was determined to get them better. I was hanging from the pole, waiting for my boost. When I looked to see what was taking so long, I realized my brother had opened the back door to get a running start from inside the laundry room. The result was a broken left arm, the first of three times (so far).

(My very first cast!)

When I was eight, my brother ran me over with his bike. I was running down the street and he came from behind and straight up took me down, running over my head. I had a black eye, cuts all over my face, and a chipped tooth that I still have to get replaced every few years.

Growing up, it was pretty much known to everyone I was a tomboy. The only girly thing about me was that I took ballet lessons for nine years. And loved it. By the time I was ten, my teacher had started me on pointe. I ended up stopping at twelve, not wanting to put my feet through the tortures of being a professional ballet dancer. We also didn’t have the money. I later learned that the last two years of my ballet career, when I was taking lessons three times a week with girls ten years older than me, that my teacher was letting me take lessons for free. Still, costumes, recitals, and traveling were too expensive. I don’t regret it now because ballet was fun for me. Although I was encouraged to pursue it as a career at ten years old, it wasn’t something I wanted. I'll never forget how much I was encouraged and supported, though.

Aside from ballet, my interests were far from girly. I have to say though, not once do I ever remember this being something bad. My classmates never teased me about being a tomboy, and I was encouraged a lot by the adults in my life. I remember playing touch football with the boys at recess and after school. We went to a Catholic school, where my mother also taught. She tutored after school, so my brothers and I would spend a lot of time with the kids in the after-school program. One of the adults running the program was once a student of my mother’s. I can’t recall his name, but he was one of my biggest advocates. He never blinked an eye when I would come play. I remember him always telling me to try out for the football team in high school. I never did, but I will never forget his encouragement or the way he made it seem so natural that this little girl was out here with these boys. Because that’s what it was to me-natural. I wasn’t out there to play football because it’s what I wanted to do when I grew up. It was something that looked fun to me, and the fact that I was a girl never crossed my mind or caused me to hesitate.

In eighth grade, it was my gym teacher supporting me. I had missed tryouts for the girls' soccer team. She convinced the coach for the boys' team to let me try out, and then told me to “just do my thing”. I was the first girl to ever play for the boys' team at St. Gregory the Great School. And again, the boys on my team never once made me feel out of place.

Along with being a tomboy, I was known for my “strong attitude and personality”. For teachers and authority, this was always an issue. You could find me in the principal's office, where I actually had my own chair. My personality set me aside from the other kids, but I was fine with that. I wanted to fit in, but I didn’t want to be the same as everyone else.

I remember getting my yearbook signed in high school. The majority of comments from students and teachers alike read that I was one of a kind, and they hoped I never changed. One of the best compliments I’ve received came years later when I reconnected with a friend on Facebook. Upon seeing all my skate pictures, he commented, “It’s good to see you haven’t let the world change you.”

I don’t think too much about being labeled a tomboy. It’s just who I am. It’s fragments of my character and personality, not something I mentally choose to be. What I focus on the most is what I want people to see in me: that I am strong, and I do not give up. This is something I have pushed for in every part of my life. And my life hasn’t been easy. I wouldn’t be standing as solid as I am today if it weren’t for the tomboy in me.

Most people see tomboys as girls who act like boys, who enjoy things that boys like. But I see tomboy as part of a girl’s character and personality that make her fierce, strong, badass warrior. She doesn’t give up and does things her own way, no matter what others may end up thinking of her. She is not afraid of getting hurt, and she can take the harsh words and criticism that comes when one does not conform to society’s expectations. Feminism is often thrown around with the word tomboy, and it’s easy to see why. Both reflect strong willed women not afraid to do what they want or be who they are, whatever that entails. There is a difference between the two, however. You don’t have to be a tomboy to be a feminist or be a feminist to be a tomboy. However, I agree with the phrase going around that “we should all be feminists”.

Feminism means equality for females. Tomboy tends to be singular. Not every feminist is a tomboy, and that is the beauty of feminism. My favorite advocate that brings feminism to light is Jessica Chastain, and I think she found the perfect description for feminism:

"It moves away from the idea that femininity is only softness, tenderness and delicacy. It includes all those things, but also adds to the equation that one can be strong and bold and aggressive as well. We define what femininity is…” (Jessica Chastain, W Magazine).

Her words also describe the type of tomboy I am, and the type of tomboy many other girls are. I've often been told that I’m a “pretty tomboy”. I am tomboyish in my likes, hobbies, and personality, but not so much in my looks. There are tomboys that do dress as boys because that’s what they like. I am a mix of femininity and tomboy, and the end result is one, unique me.

I might be pretty, obsess over my eyebrows, and make getting a nice tan my priority in the summer, but you won’t find a trace of makeup, and I couldn’t care less what you think of my looks. You will find plenty of scrapes, bruises, and scars, though. My scars are proof that I lived. I have stories to tell. There has yet to be a time where I look back and think, “I wish I had done that when I had the chance.” My greatest fear is missing out. I literally live every day like it's the last. I’ve been to Paris and London, I’ve hiked fifty miles of the Appalachian Trail, I’ve gone white water rafting on the New River in West Virginia. And each one of these adventures had its own adventure within it.

I am most proud of my skateboarding scars. You won’t find another girl skater who kills herself skating like I do. You probably won’t even find many guy skaters, either. Anyone who has seen me skate knows I am not afraid to fall, take a slam, or put in the work it takes just to land even one trick. Skateboarding is a sport like no other. Pain is inevitable, and for me, if I’m not hurting the next day, then I didn’t skate hard enough. My boyfriend and I started skating when were about twenty-one. We were addicted from day one. It's now been ten years. My skating came to a complete stop a few years ago, while doctors struggled to find a diagnosis to my medical mystery. I will never be as healthy as I was, or on the same level of skating like before, but I have learned to be grateful that I am able to skate at all. Skating with Celiac Disease can be hard, but it pushes me. I still skate as hard as I did before, knowing I could fall ill, and not be able to skate for weeks at a time. Just like life, I skate every session like it’s my last.

A sport dominated by men, I found my passion in skateboarding. There have been a few times that being a girl brought negative experiences. If a guy has never seen me skate, they immediately dismiss my abilities. I don’t mind this at all. Skateboarding is all about earning your place and earning respect. The family I have found within this sport is like no other. I am thankful for the males that accept me, and even more for the ones that don’t treat me any different or special just because I’m a girl. When I’m skating, I get called out just like everyone else. Tricks don’t count just because you land it. You get respect by landing them properly, and the effort you put in. I think most girls would see this as unfair, but I see it as being accepted. I'm not treated any different. The rules apply to me, just like every other male I am surrounded by. But I get the same support, too.

They say the future is female, but I’d like to think it’s just bright in its equality for everyone.

I have been called many things: tough, feisty, badass, fearless, a warrior. Rolled into one, I am a tomboy.

But I am not just a tomboy.

I am tomboy fierce.