I’ve lived here my whole life

I’ve heard the adults around me talk about the future

‘That girl is such a good cook. She’ll make a great mother’

And what about the girl who can’t cook?

‘Oh, she’ll learn. Once she’s a mother, cooking will come naturally’

And what if she doesn’t want that?

What if being a mother isn’t her idea of the future?

What about that little girl?

That little girl who wants nothing more than to solve crimes

To stop the bad guys, to be a detective

A detective like her father and grandfather before her

But she can’t

She’s told she’ll never be like them, as good as them

Why?

Because she’s a girl

Because she’s a girl and should be sweet and caring

And not out there risking her life

No, if she wants to show she cares, she should stay home and make a family

Leave the detective work to the boys

And what about this boy?

He’s risking his life, fighting whoever threatens his family

Fighting so his loved ones can be who they want to be

But not him

No, he’s throwing punches when all he wants…

All he wants is to be at home

All he wants is to make those dolls your daughter saw in that store window and loved with all her heart

All he wants is to make those kids smile

If they really are the future

Then why are we trying to pull them into the past?

Why are we trying to push them into molds that we ourselves tried so hard to break?

In time that girl will be keeping your kids safe while that boy gives them reasons to smile

They are our future

Let us be the hand that lifts them up and not the one that beats them down