Identities

      My identity has been horrendously misjudged in a more negative way to say the least. But to me, I feel like it was what I needed to get where I am today in life. When I started playing hockey, I was always the only girl on the team. There wasn’t anyone I knew at the age of 9 in my shoes. Boys would treat me like I was one of them, everything more and nothing less because playing on a rep team took a lot of grit itself- never mind being a girl. The transition over to girls was a rough being especially when people found out where I came from. Girls would intentionally pull pranks on me; Parents would avoid me, and most of all I was ignored because they had an impression on me before they even got to know me. Girls thought my head was big, that I was super annoying- I was alienated by everyone including my coaches. Pushing myself harder to beat them and stop all the false impressions from spreading is something I personally thrive for now. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me. The question is who’s going to stop me.”-Rick Bodeux