Today, my daughter is wearing her John Cena T-shirt to school. It’s red day so she was trying to find a shirt to wear that was red. This was the only shirt she could find that fit but she was afraid to wear it. When I asked her why she said that some of the kids make fun of her for liking wrestling.
The boys make fun of her because she’s a girl and “girls aren’t supposed to like wrestling”. The girls make fun of her because she is “acting like a boy”.
There been a lot of talks together about how it’s important to be who you are. We’ve talked about how important it is not to let other people decide what is cool and what is not cool. Ambry is not your average little girl. She likes Captain America and the Hulk and Dr. Who! This little girl loves My Little Pony and mermaids and dolphins just like every other little girl normally does. She also likes wrestling and football. I’ve tried to explain to her that there’s nothing wrong with that, but society still puts that impression on people and kids pick it up too.
My daughter will tell you that John Cena is not just her hero because of his wrestling, but also because of his work with children and the Make-A-Wish foundation. What 7 year old thinks like that? He inspires her to be to be compassionate, and I am proud of her for finding her own path.
I’ve told her to be true to herself and that liking things that not everybody else likes is not only OK, but cool too.
Here’s to my baby for trying to break out of the stereotypes!
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