Many years ago, in the year of 1992, I was in 4th grade. My school had this policy where the girls could wear hats but the boys couldn\’t. I thought this was stupid. If the girls could wear large, distracting hats why couldn\’t the boys? *I had a classmate who always wore obnoxious sun-hats, and I just wanted to wear my Dallas Cowboys hat.

One day I asked my teacher why boys couldn\’t wear hats. Her response was \”if it matches your outfit, I don\’t see why you couldn\’t\”. This delighted my young brain! When I got home I began my plan. \”Mom, I need a Dallas Cowboys outfit!\”

See, as a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Buffalo Bills country in the early 90\’s was both a defiant act and an aggressive one. I wanted to show my pride.

So my mom followed through. She bought some Cowboys fabric, a pants and shirt pattern for the sewing machine and made me amazing Dallas Cowboys clothes.

Then, once all the \”matching\” Dallas Cowboys clothes were ready, I was prepared. That morning I excitedly doused myself in Dallas Cowboys logos, with the crowning piece being my Dallas Cowboys cap being that last and most important.

I was filled with pride. I was going to game the system and wear a hat, that \”matched\” my outfit. I felt victorious. I was gonna get to wear a hat, anger Bills fans, and have a great day!

First period starts. Teacher tells me to take my hat off. I refuse, saying: \” Girls can wear hats, this matches my outfit. I was told that made it okay.\” Teacher be decided it wasn\’t. Since I refused to comply, I was sent to the office.

I was forced to meet with the Vice Principal. I explained my motivation to her. Defended myself the best my 4th grade brain could. At the end I was told to go back to class.

The next morning, during announcements, the VP said \”Starting tomorrow, girls are no longer allowed to wear hats on school premises.\”

I won. Just not how I wanted to. Still, a great victory and a life-lesson learned!