"Who am I?” I ask myself this everyday and am reminded that I am no one. A young girl who is about to turn 18 and doesn't want to hit adulthood with goals unfulfilled, who is in a continuous struggle to make herself happy. But it is very hard to make yourself happy when you have to take the burden of societal pressure first. Being a girl and the only child of my parents, I fear that I am not enough for them; what if I don't provide them with what they want from me?

I don't want myself to fall into a race where I only have to compete for money, fame, and whatnot. I see people raising fingers at me every single day for having dreams that don't meet their requirements. For instance, because I'm a girl, I cannot play professional sports. But at the same time I have people who support me constantly, like my grandfather. He never allowed his daughters to study, but with time he noticed and understood that education is for all, and now he himself helped me choose my high school.

My society tells me to sit at home and wait for Prince Charming, who is going to make me a Queen. But on the other hand, people like my Qudsia Aunty, my neighbor, tell me tales of women standing up for themselves and becoming Queens. She is more than a neighbor, she is a friend who guides me and whom I can count on. The other friend of mine that I would say has played an important role in building who I am today is the internet. It has totally changed my perspective.

I'm the only girl of our family to enter the doors of a high school. I know every wrong step of mine will make a huge hurdle for all the girls coming after me. Therefore, I live to create an example for girls who are otherwise given examples of women in the kitchen. I want them to listen to stories of women in social lives doing their best. It is going to take a lot to change my people, my society, but I am ready to take the first step so that it shall be easy for girls behind me to take the second step.