Persistence

As a kid, I tried to be a tomboy. Maybe because I wanted to please my mother. My mother loved to tell stories of her own tomboyhood. She told the story of her short hair and shorter temper like it was the fastest route to safety. For her, I slicked my hair back into a ducktail, and fought the boys at school. For her, I played with cars instead of dolls, and got crushes on my best friends.