[ WP ] `` I used to be a disruptive tomboy , then I entered a beauty pageant ''

`` I used to be a disruptive tomboy. But then, I entered a beauty pageant.'' 
 
 Her daughter gave her a dubious look. 
 
 `` Well,'' she amended, `` I still am a disruptive tomboy, but I used to be, too.'' 
 
 `` Mom, what's your point?'' Her daughter's tone was exasperated; she was just entering that age when a parent's word becomes less a gospel and more an annoyance. 
 
 `` I'm getting to it, do n't worry.'' She smiled tenderly at her not-really-a-child. Still, her eyes became slightly distant. `` My mother made me do it. I thought I'd hate it. And I did, mostly. The other girls and I had very little in common, you know.'' 
 
 `` And?'' 
 
 `` And, then I went up on stage. All dressed up, in a shimmery blue dress. For maybe the first time in my life, I felt pretty. And I kind of liked it.'' 
 
 Her daughter frowned. `` You did?'' 
 
 `` I did. And that's when I decided that it did n't matter what anyone said at all.'' She winked at her daughter. `` If a girl wanted to be pretty, she could. If a girl wanted to be tomboyish, she could. And that applies to boys as well.'' 
 
 The younger girl shrugged. `` Yeah, I guess.'' 
 
 `` So do n't worry about what he said, alright? All that matters is what *you* want.'' 
 
 Her daughter gave a hesitant grin. `` Thanks, mom.''
