There is no reality; only perception.

I feel an obligation to voice this opinion: It is OK to be a strong female. In my opinion, it is preferred to be a strong female. By no means am I by any stretch of the imagination a feminsist. But as I get older, and the more experiences I obtain, I realize that this world might not be ready for a woman that is comfortable voicing her opinion. I've played sports. I've worked with men. We women have all the same opportunities--or so I thought. I'm about to graduate with highest honors from a great university (the best in my opinion). But no matter what I say, it will be taken differerently than the same sentence said by a man. Maybe this is the answer to my entire life. Maybe I need to just accept this as fact. But I refuse.
In high school, we all had fake confidence. By this, I mean everyone pretended to be cocky and comfortable with who they were. PRETENDED. We all took this in the worst way possible--especially us girls. We all thought the other was full of themself, but in reality, we had no confidence in ourselves and thought the person standing to our left was prettier, skinnier and more talented than we were. Note the 'we:' I am a prefect example of this. I was taken as an over-confident, self-absorbed girl that thought she was better than everyone else. But there is no reality; only perception. If anyone had asked, they would have found a self-concious, insecure little girl dying to have the affection and be accepted by others. I think I can extrapolate this outward; extending this to many other high school girls I knew and even know now.
This was in high school. I can proudly say that I have found myself, in most regards, in college. I no longer have this 'fake' confidence. I have a true confidence that I have acquired through good relationships, good conversations, good family and above all, good perceptions of myself. By no means does this mean I can enter a crowded room and be comfortable and think that all the whispers are not about me. I'm still neurotic- I probably always will be. But I am comfortable with who I am and who I have become. I know that not everyone is going to like me. I know not everyone is going to think I'm pretty or smart or in shape or smart. But I know that I think I am a good person who puts other people before me and wants the best for the group. If you think otherwise, you haven't talked to me; you have just judged me based on a perception. There is no reality; only perception. I no longer need to defend myself. I no longer need other's approval. I am who I am. Take it or leave it. I hope all women, whether 5 years old or 55 years old, can say the same.