Sugar, Spice, and Dinosaur Eyes

I used to play castles and princes with my two older brothers when I was a kid. Although the level of violence was not clearly discussed, and it really did not matter, I made one thing very clear - my brothers would play the knights or the princes, but I would not always be the princess whom they would (fine!) rescue from some random castle!

Yes, you could wear that pink ballerina hat with
your green monkey onesie

Often, I was the dragon that terrorised the castle! I would stomp my feet and fight with my brothers who used either the Nintendo guns or Leonardo's swords, and no matter how much they tried they could not kill me. Just so you know, I had secret potions that made me immortal. I was the hard-headed dragon who gave a lot of plot twists in the game.

Soon, my brothers grew tired of the game because 1) they were already in College, and I was still in Grade School, and 2) it was boring to have a dragon they couldn't kill.

Yeah, I know being the dragon is not the role girls would first pick in a role-playing game, but I grew up just fine. I grew up in the times when it's okay to be the princess and play with Barbie marrying a Cabbage Patch Kid, but there's also nothing wrong to be the dragon that could kill those stupid ducks in Duck Hunt. 

I remember telling my roommate (my husband, btw) that one of my life goals is to drive a bulldozer. I even had a matchbox bulldozer before. It was neatly placed next to my Polly Pockets and Bulbasaur. 

And this is something I wish Baby Charley to understand. 

Of course, you can have all the shoes you can afford

She should not limit herself to just having girl's stuff and doing just girl things. 

Being a girl does not mean having all things pink and yellow- from notebooks, to pens, to paper towels.

Being a girl does not mean being required to take summer ballet classes or getting the pink kinder joy or the Barbie McDonald's Happy Meal. 

Being a girl does not mean that life would be easy on her, and people would always understand her and her mood swings. Being a girl does not mean being the emotional one in the group or being a damsel in distress all the time.

She can, but it does not hurt if she could change the tires herself from time to time.

Being a girl means she could wear shirts with trains and dinosaurs or skirts with ribbons and stars. She could play soccer and basketball and climb trees and be pirates with her cousins. She could watch the Winx Club and the NBA finals. We could download Call of Duty and if she wants a "Jack and the Pirates in Neverland" birthday party theme instead of Tinkerbell, fine! She could be the big bad wolf when she goes Trick or Treating, or Princess Cinderella, or Olaf. 

and you can have wolverine and the gang
to fight against dengue mosquitoes! 

She could be anything she wants to be…because she is a girl. 

She can be confident and smart and strong just as any boy. She can express her opinions and tell people they’re wrong or apologise when she’s wrong. She can ask a man to drive for her to Katipunan or carry stuff for her. She can shout when she’s angry or punch walls if she wants to so that she could compose herself back and control her emotions again. She can be firm and compassionate at the same time.

More importantly, being a girl means working really hard to reach her dreams without stepping on anyone just to get them. She should be holding her head high for something she’s very proud of while keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

She can be all of these and more…Because. She. Is. A. Girl.

She should understand that girls aren’t just made of sugar, spice, and anything nice. Sometimes, girls are also made with dinosaur eyes.