I have this friend that continually calls me a girl even though I remind them that I don’t identify with that word. They didn’t seem to understand the idea behind it, but I felt the need to explain my stance to prevent any further confusion. So the story goes like this:

“I made a conscious effort not to refer to myself as a girl anymore under any circumstances. Most people thought it was weird, but I connected the word girl with childish and finite things, and I didn’t want to associate myself with that any longer. I associated woman with growth, success, etc. and thus wanted to attract all these things, plus more, into my life.

When I made the transition from girl to woman, I had this metaphysical change. I was more willing to embrace changes as well as accomplish the goals I set out for myself. My poise changed and I became more graceful. You may not think that this was the only reason, but it was indeed the first flap in the butterfly effect. I am glad I made this decision!”

In life, you need to do what is best for you, and this was a great win for me.