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I was born three weeks early. Due to this and my temperament, I soon acquired the name “Bamm- Bamm” from my uncle. My family said I was strong and moved like a drill bit in their arms when they held me as a baby. When I was older and learned what my nickname actually meant, I was thrilled. I did not care that “Bamm-Bamm” was a boy Flintstone character, I wasn’t offended by this. This nickname implied strength and even though they might not know this, the strength my family gave me in my childhood nickname has carried me throughout tough times. I loved my childhood. I loved the neighborhood I grew up in and the friendships I made even though they didn’t last forever like I expected. I loved running around barefoot with my sister, wrestling…show more content…
It wasn’t until third grades that I began to notice gender stereotypes. Why should I have? I loved playing soccer, and I played as well as, if not better than, the boys. I was equally as fast and equally as talented. At this time, I didn’t know that society expected girls to be poised and proper instead of hard headed and stubborn. My mother soon gave up on her dreams of dressing me cute to church. She wanted me to wear one thing and naturally I wanted to wear the other. I soon acquired another nickname. This time I was called “Contrary Mary.” During recess in third grade, the gym class was taken outside on a hot humid Illinois summer day. We were to run a mile, this meant six laps around our school’s exterior perimeter. I loved to run and to me everything was a competition. I finished first. I was sweaty, and my heart was thrumming from the run. Soon after me, the boys finished their mile. I was accused of cheating, and I learned that day that it is not acceptable for a girl to finish before a boy in our society. I beat the boys again, this time in pull ups doing twenty-five, and again I was accused of cheating. Of course, I was accused of cheating. These boys never thought that maybe my background in gymnastics and determination were enough to help me complete this task. Later in life, I played as the only girl on an otherwise all boys travel soccer team. I was intimidated; however,…show more content…
In third grade, I began speech class because I had trouble pronouncing my R’s and S’s. My best friend was also in this class, and this made it bearable. In my third grade teacher’s eyes, I was never good enough. She knew my mother well because they both were teachers in this small rural town of mine. My mother is naturally smart, and she shared her bright mind with the eighth grade math class she taught. In my third grade class, I was receiving an A-. My teacher made sure everyone in the room knew what my grade was too. She once called me out in class and said, “Your mother is a math teacher. You shouldn’t be getting an A-. You aren’t as smart as her.” I don’t know if I was more embarrassed by what she said in front of the entire class or hurt that being myself wasn’t good enough: I had to be smart like my parents. My mother was furious with my teacher’s comments. My mother never expected me to anyone but myself, unlike my teacher. “Aunt Six had written on each of ten pieces of paper, folded into two and placed in the tea, the name of a profession, an occupation, a dream that she had for me: journalist, cabinetmaker, diplomat, lawyer, fashion designer, flight attendant, writer, humanitarian worker, director, politician. It was thanks to that gift that I learned there were other professions than medicine, that I was allowed to dream my own dreams.” - Kim Thúy,
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