Hi, I’m Sreya Kalapala

and I’m bossy.

I’ve never been able to walk away from an argument, and I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m a know-it-all. Of course, all of these things are relatively accurate.

But do I care?

No. No, no. No.

They say that everything is genetics, so I guess my parents are responsible for this. And in my opinion, I’ve got some pretty good genes.

My family has always been a feminist one,

so I was taught from the time I could walk, that I could do and achieve anything I put my mind to, regardless of gender. 

I internalized those words, and by the time I could talk,

God help anyone who got in the way of what I had decided to do. 

My upbringing taught me to look at every perspective, and never to discriminate by simply what I could see.

I learned that not everything meets the eye,

and that sometimes you have to dig a little deeper before getting to the core of something.

My childhood was an interesting one: both my parents were Indian immigrants, so I grew up hearing of the long-ago queens who ruled their countries. They led their nations to prosperity, waged wars, and took no prisoners. They certainly weren’t helpless damsels-in-distress, and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. 

However, once I learned to read, and started to watch movies, I noticed that there was a distinct lack of badass female characters. This irritated me immensely; in every single movie that I watched, the hero with the perfect hair swooped in to save the day. And while that was all well and good, I wanted to see a fearless warrior queen charge into battle or an I-do-it-like-a-girl spy saving nations. 

As I grew older, female heroes became more prevalent.

I fought alongside Hermione Granger in the battle of Hogwarts and survived in the Hunger Games right next to Katniss Everdeen. These characters, along with so many others were my role models.

They taught me to work hard for what I want and to take no less than what I knew I deserved. 

And so, when I was called “pushy” or a “bossy” so many times for being myself, and refusing to compromise on the things I believed in, I smiled and took the compliment. 

Because I am uncompromisingly myself.

However, so many other girls, everywhere, have had their confidence and individuality forcibly taken from them. They must transform themselves to be something that they aren’t for the sake of patriarchy. 

And that is something that needs to change.

It is something that needs to be done away with.

‘Til the end of time.

So, the power needs to be rearranged.

Cuz girls will be girls.