I could run around and play with reckless abandon as long as my matter was within earshot because I was a sweet little girl and the neighborhood kids liked me. And I could get covered in dirt and grass stains because I was just being a kid.
I could speak freely when my words were quiet but the loud ones required permission because I was only a child. There were so many others who know better than me and I wasn't ready for that kind of knowledge because I wasn't ready to grow up.
I could sit with my hands folded and listen intently to every word from their tongues because that's what they told me to do and yet there was so much I wanted to do that their rules greatly forbid. My voice was not one they wanted to hear.
I can smile at the sun and sing all my favorite songs. My shoes lie at the doorstep as I dance with the rain because I don't want to sit quietly inside. The rainwater soaking my hair feels clean and fresh as does the realization that I could've done this all along because I am a person.
And no one was stopping me.