I was a tomboy. Not a tomboy in the sense that most people think of him, but in the way that all adventurous and curious little girls are. During recess I played kick ball. I wore Bart Simpson sweatshirts. I played Indians. I went fishing. At some point along the way, I lost some of that tomboy in me. Interestingly, when changes come into my life, even though they've probably been brewing for some time, there's usually an event that seems to mark that change. So when I look back, I think about the change before and after that event. It is not surprising, then, that I remember a distinct event that, in my mind, was the point of my return from Neverland - the event that marked my transition from my sheltered place, my childhood, to cold and dark. world of adolescence. Looking back, I was probably a domineering, know-it-all kid. But by fourth grade the other kids knew me as the ringleader. I was the new kid, but my innovative patterns allowed me to make friends quickly. One of my first excursions was my ingenious plan to hold a seance during recess. I gathered the courage from the jungle gym and we made our way to the other side of the schoolyard. I quietly called all the spirits haunting the Madison playground to join us. At first reluctantly, which soon turned into grave enthusiasm, my classmates intervened. To our dismay, there didn't seem to be any ghosts around that day, but don't worry, I confidently assured everyone, I was sure spirits would be around tomorrow. As in every elementary classroom in the world, there was chatter going on in ours too, and as we took our seats after recess, the entire room was alive with a tension that cast sadness into our usually cheerful classroom. Someone had said it. I was fearless, except... middle of paper... girls from all over the world! Adolescence is a terrible time for many girls, as it was for me: they feel pressured to enter the world of adulthood but they find themselves at a crossroads, they don't want to leave childhood behind yet. I was torn when I put on my first bra: my rite of passage into the world of adolescence. I was torn between my carefree childhood world, which I was quickly leaving behind, and the adult world, which I was not ready to enter. After getting used to my older self, I felt more comfortable in my new skin — and I believe I regained many of the traits that I had somehow lost in the whirlwind of my transition into adolescence. But I will always long for fourth grade, when the world seemed to be full of things for me to discover especially, and I was blind to the barriers that sometimes hold me back today..