March 6, 2026
By Olive Bautista
Staff Writer
Just like many kids, I wanted to be different. As an elementary school student at Sacred Heart School in Lyndhurst, I found it difficult to express myself because I was stuck wearing an itchy, stuffy uniform. The girls had to wear a long skort, and the boys wore slacks.
I felt awkward around the girls because all they did was squeal and giggle. We shared common interests such as L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls and slime, but they were mean and obnoxiously loud.
As a little girl, I pretended to hate makeup because I didn’t want to be perceived as overly feminine, but I finally embraced it in seventh grade.
I knew that I did not want to be lumped together with them, so I suppressed my “girly” side and only talked about the things that the boys enjoyed. I found myself making more guy friends than girl friends. I would trade my Pokémon cards with them at summer camp, and we would battle each other.
The other girls at school didn’t really understand the Pokémon Japanese media franchise, which I adored. Most of them thought it was silly and “boyish,” but as a little girl who spent most of her time after school with her dad, I thought it was fun.
When I became a student at Lyndhurst Middle School, I wound up making a lot of female friends because I thought the sixth-grade boys were wild, unlike the quiet boys at Sacred Heart School. At first, it was hard to get along with them because I thought we were different, but then I realized that, like me, many of them preferred to be less “girly.”
I remember my mom used to buy me small fake makeup toys to “practice with.” I felt the synthetic, dry bristles of the artificial nail polish as I made believe I was at a salon. I frowned as I pressed my finger into the spongy foam that was meant to be eyeshadow.
As a little girl, I pretended to hate makeup because I didn’t want to be perceived as overly feminine, but I finally embraced it in seventh grade. That is when I began allowing myself to wear makeup and dress in a more polished manner. I started hanging out with my girl friends and staying in touch with both sides of myself.
Around the time I became a teenager, I began feeling sad that so many girls feel ashamed of having both traditionally male and female interests and pastimes. All activities, media and styles are acceptable for everyone who is interested in them. If it is fun and healthy, then anyone should be welcome to participate. Especially during Women’s History Month, I embrace my identity, which is complex, unique and special to me.
