You're Not "That" Kind of Girl

As I was leaving my last class for the week, another student stopped me. His comments, though spoken with the nicest of intentions, brought to mind one of the reasons I started Backpacks and Belly Button Rings.


He stopped me to comment on a necklace I was wearing (pictured above). He asked "what it was all about". The necklace is a shell casing (the part that is left once you shoot a bullet) on a simple chain. The casing is engraved with my Grandfather's name, as well as his birth and death dates. When I told this to my classmate, he responded that that made sense, because I'm not that type of girl. 

He continued to say I was more of a "girl", and he didn't know why I would have gun paraphernalia. Now this is the first class I've had with this individual, and this is the third week of the course. Any conclusions he had drawn about me came from seeing me across a classroom and a brief conversation. It turns out, I am a gun girl. I don't shoot frequently, but have grown up around guns and do support having them in the home with strict security and educational safety factors. Being a "girly-girl" is not all I am. 

Just because I paint my nails doesn't mean I don't have dirt under them. You'll find me just as often in hiking boots as high heels. I can, have, and will, wear makeup and mud. On a friday night, your just as likely to find me studying as partying. My friends are nerds, jocks, rednecks, barbies, hippies, and anyone else who comes my way (now including a misinformed classmate!). My interests and qualities are not mutually exclusive and do not negate each other. 

This is why you will find a little bit of everything on this lifestyle blog. I'm sharing me, which won't fit in a box, and I wouldn't want it to. 

What about you surprises people most?