Going to the gym to me always seemed like this great big commitment that required a lot of mental and physical strength to maintain, which is why, with my busy schedule and lazy attitude, gym-ing never became my thing, until it suddenly became required for me (for school) to go to the gym 3 times a week, each for an hour.  

Going into the gym, I didn't know much about lifting, squatting, or any of the other basic weight training exercises that were popular in the gym. But what I did notice, was the strong stigma that everyone seemed to have with girls going to the gym. 

At first, I understood the stigma, as why would any girl want to have bulgy muscles and huge quads and biceps? and I did pretty much everything in my power to avoid the exercises that society has made me feel uncomfortable doing: benching, dead lifts etc... 

It was not until weeks after starting going to the gym that I realized as I read an article on how the myth of "bulking up" for doing those specific exercises were completely false, and that every body reacts differently and builds muscle differently to different exercises. This is when I realized that this stigma completely  goes back to the roots of patriarchal people believing that strong and competent women cannot be feminine and attractive. 

Once I realized how wrong and unnecessary the stigma around girls lifting weights were, I started weight training (not intensely) and it has helped me immensely, not only building up my physical strength and power, but helping with mental strength as well.