Citlali loved playing sports...

She loved running and catching and throwing.

She loved kicking and jumping and dodging.

She loved the rush of energy she got every time she played a game on the field. But most of all she loved that she felt free and in control.

Citlali did not like playing dress-up.

She did not like painting her nails or styling her hair. She did not like to play with dolls, or gossip with other girls.

She liked her short hair.

She liked her casual clothes.

She liked to play sports, with cars, and even video games.

Citlali was really good at playing video games. Her favorite video-games involved racing cars and obstacle races.

She could beat most of her classmates at racing video-games. The only classmate she could not beat was Jorge. He was very good at video-games, no one was able to beat his score.

One day Citlali and her teacher mentioned that the class would be going on a field trip to a video game arcade. Citlali was excited for the trip, she loved going to arcades!

Some of her girl classmates told her she was weird for liking video-games, they told her those are boy games! They would mention that niñas (girls) do not play like boys do.

Citlali would often hear her girl classmates say things like that. They would tell her she did not dress like a girl, and she liked boy things more than girl things.

Sometimes the boys in her class would also say similar things. They would tell her to go play with dolls or to play dress up with the other girls in class. The boys would tell her she was not "girly" enough.

Citlali did not like that her classmates judged her behavior. She loved being athletic and playing video games, why should she do things she hated just to fit in.

Citlali's mom even tried getting her to play with dolls and getting her to dress up and play with her girl classmates. Her mom would say to act more like a niña (girl) and less like a niño (boy). Citlali would do this sometimes to please her mom, but she did not enjoy these things.

She was tired of being told what she should do and what she should like. She wanted to be able to do the things she enjoyed doing.

One day Citlali's teacher noticed that Citlali was sad. She approached Citlali and asked her what was wrong. Citlali explained to her teacher that she felt like she did not fit in because she liked to do "cosas de niños" ("boy things") and did not enjoy doing cosas de niñas" ("girly things."

Citlali's teacher reassured her that it was okay for her to enjoy sports and video-games. She told her that it was okay to not like dress up, or dolls and other "girly things." None of that really mattered as long as she was happy with herself. She also told her she could be a niña and like these things.

Citlali felt much better after talking to her teacher. She made her feel much more accepted. Citlali went on with her day happily.

The field trip to the arcade was in two days, Citlali was practicing her video-game skills daily. She really wanted to show all her classmates her video-game skills and also wanted to beat her own high score.

Citlali was getting closer and closer to beating her own high score. She was even getting close to beating her classmate Jorge's score.

Citlali's classmates noticed that she was close to beating Jorge's highest score and they told Jorge. Jorge told his classmates that she would never be able to beat his score, because she was just a niña.

Citlali was annoyed at Jorge's comment, but she tried not to let it bug her. She focused on playing video-games and improving her score.

The day of the field trip came and she was riding in the bus with her classmates. Anna, a classmate asked Citlali if she was planning to beat Jorge's score and giggled. Citlali told her that was not her plan, she just wanted to have fun at the arcade.

Jorge heard the conversation between Anna and Citlali, he turned to Citlali from his seat in the bus and told her that she could only dream about beating his high score but it would never happen, he turned back and laughed along with his friends.

Citlali ignored Jorge and his friends, she did not let them upset her.