As the third child in my family of four and the only girl I was labeled the cry baby. My older brothers worried … was I too sensitive to survive? But as an adult I practice saying what I really feel, experimenting with how to express it. I realize I was just frustrated by trying too hard. It wasn’t about being a girl, or being younger. It was about trusting my feelings and learning to express my own experience.

When i can't express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal

I know
but that's why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry

--Nikki Giovanni, excerpt from "Choices"