i would hear Their scoffs

Alberta hates the environment.

and i’d sink in my seat

my head tucked low

They don’t know me i’d say

i would hear Their skepticism

you’re too small to play rugby.

and i’d cast my eyes down

frown at my body

They don’t know me

i would hear their smirks

girls don’t know how this works.

and i’d grit my teeth

take a deep breath

They don’t know me

they think that i’m easy to capture,

to contain,

to categorize.

but I won’t be put in a box with calculated characteristics

I’m tired of being defined

being definite

unchangeable

I can be two opposite things—

I am two “opposite” things

I am complicated and nuanced and my own to describe

now I hear their statements

and I lift my head,

stand tall.

who are they to tell me who I am?