Roles Reversed

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think”

Isn’t it funny how much a sexist world we live in? How much gender roles shape not only society but every child born into it. From the beginning, everyone has a role to play, ways they have to act. Men are taught to be the saviours, while women were taught to be the damsels in distress…but not this time.
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Mikayla Heiner was unlike the other girls in her class. While they were off worrying about their hair and body images, she was in the library devouring books like fairy floss. Mikayla loved a good book, it was her escape from the sexist people around her. She spent most of her time with her nose in a book and as a result she had the ticket to any University in the country, but did her peers care? Of course not! All they care about is what she wears and how it’s not ‘girly’.
Reading was not the only thing she cared about however. Mikayla loved the outdoors, if she wasn’t in the library she was outdoors. She loved to go camping, hiking, swimming and bike riding. She even had a job as the local Lifesaver, but she was soon gonna realise that even through all the taunts and bullying, she never had to be anything more than herself.
It was a beautiful the day, the sun was shining, the sand glowing and the water a deep shade of blue and green. Her short ginger hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her pale skin warm under the summer sun. She wore a simple singlet and shorts along with the whistle dangling from her neck. She looked around her to the hundreds of people enjoying the beach.
“Oi! You! Life guard!” she hears the annoying voice of Nicholas Williams beside her. Taking a deep breath Mikayla turns her attention to him. Nicholas Williams was the schools most popular boy toy. Each day he had a new girl on his arm. He stood at 6ft and his short blonde hair defined his dark blue eyes. Was he cute? Maybe but sometimes it was hard to appreciate his looks when everything that came out of his mouth could be taken as offensive.
“Can I help you?” Mikayla asks nicely.
“Yeah you can look for a new job! Like anyone wants to be saved by you” Mikayla ignored him and went back to looking for trouble. Eventually he got bored and left with his friends, then when Mikayla looked out towards the sea, she sees someone caught in a rip. Jumping into action she jumps off her stand, grabs her long surf board and makes a run for the water. Launching herself into the water she paddles as fast as she could. She reaches the person in trouble within minutes, but what she finds has he scoffing. She saw Nicholas gasping for air and for a second she was tempted to leave him there, if the tables were turned he wouldn’t save her. But that would make her now better than him. So she reached out her hand and pulled him up onto the board with her. While he laid front first on the surf board, she paddled her way out of the rift. She was proud of herself in that moment, not only did she save someone’s life but she save a guy’s life.
Within a few moments they floated back to shore, where the medical team were waiting. They took Nicholas with them, while Mikayla just walked passed the gawking teenagers from her school with a smirk on her face. She dug the board in the sand and perched herself on her stand.
It would be nice to say that she was treated differently from then on, but that would be a lie. Society has a way of doing that. But Nicholas definitely changed, in fact he was cut out from the popular crowd as soon as he returned to school and all because he was saved by a girl. He changed for the better, he stopped his sexist ways and Mikayla gained a new friend. People always talk about the damsel in distress being rescued by the brave shining knight. But who said the damsel had to be a girl and at the same time who said the knight had to be a boy?