Layla, Aged 10

Being a girl means… It’s very different from being a boy, especially at the moment I’m at now which is that I’m going through hormones. I know this because I was getting really cranky and my mum said it was hormones.

The positives are… Clothes. Because boys only get to wear trousers and shorts and T-shirts, but as girls we get the choice of two. We can wear all that, plus we can wear dresses and skirts. Also as a girl I like wearing make-up and dresses and all that stuff but I also like doing boy things, like exploring, climbing trees, going to the park, playing sports and running.

The boundaries are… I don’t think there are any, girls are able to do whatever they want. In fact I don’t think there are any boundaries to being anyone. Anyone can do what they want.

My ambitions are… To be on the stage, singing, dancing and acting. And then between jobs I would like be a photographer.

My hopes for the future are… My parents split up last year, so what I’d really like one day is for all the new people in my family to sit round the table and have a nice dinner together.

My fears… That there is going to be a fire somewhere and I wont have time to get the things that I know I will feel safe in a different house with like my little rabbit. I would also need to get money and my laptop, iPad and iPhone so that then I could contact people, like my Grandma.

Girls are… Tough, positive and adventurous

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