Sam Coope,
New Hyde Park, NY
Growing up, I was always the tomboy type. I loved to play sports and be active. I am someone who loves to work out and go to the gym on a daily basis. I played on many different teams all throughout high school. Some of them were all women’s teams and other’s were all men’s teams. I was able to experience playing with both men and women. The different levels of competition between the two were extremely different but exciting. I loved the thrill of being able to be the only girl on a men’s team. It allowed me to feel like I was strong enough to compete on this level of competition. However, when I go out with a group of friends, I do like to dress up once in a while, even though I am someone who always felt more comfortable wearing athletic clothes. As I got older, I started dressing up a lot more while also continuing to be an athlete. I guess you can say I have two different types of styles when it comes to the activity I am doing. I am also a girl who doesn’t like to wear makeup. I don’t own any makeup and have never been into wearing anything like that. As a girl, it sometimes feels weird for me to say that I don’t like wearing makeup. However, it isn’t for me and not something that I feel comfortable wearing myself. I love being a part of many different teams and playing on a team with all guys because of how tough it makes me feel. I often feel like I am one of the boys even though I am a girl because I play on a team with them. To some people, a girl playing on a men’s team may look crazy because of the competitive level. However, I love to be challenged and love the competitiveness I get while playing with them. Just because I am a girl, doesn’t always mean that I have to follow the stereotypes of all girls and do all the girly things that girls do. There is nothing that a girl can’t do even if the levels of competition and interests are different than most. Overall, being me is something that I would never want to change. I may be different than most girls and not always into girly things, but I am always going to continue to be myself and do what makes me happy. I will always be unique and beautiful in my own way and strive to continue to do the things that make me happy.
