[Trending] Mom’s Meaningful Photos Of Girls As Both Princesses And Athletes Show That They Don’t Have To Choose

“Are you a sporty girl, or a girly girl?” “Tara is always playing soccer, she’s such a tomboy…” “Erica doesn’t do sports, she’s too much of ...

“Are you a sporty girl, or a girly girl?” “Tara is always playing soccer, she’s such a tomboy…” “Erica doesn’t do sports, she’s too much of a princess for that.” We’ve all heard conversations like these, putting little girls firmly into boxes before they’ve even had a chance to find out for themselves what kind of person they are. Who’s to say that girls can’t be anything and everything that they want to be?

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Alabama-based photographer and mom Heather Mitchell had a lightbulb moment recently while chatting to another mom at her daughter’s softball practice. “One of the moms told me (my daughter) was not athletic — that she was a girly girl,” Heather told TODAY Parents. “I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’”

Image credits: HMP Couture Imagery

The very next day, Heather took her daughter Paislee to her photography studio and snapped some powerful shots of her dressed in pretty dresses, tiaras and other ‘girly’ attire, mixed together with her ready-to-rumble softball gear. The photos were so popular that she was inundated with requests from other girls and parents to do the same for them.

Image credits: HMP Couture Imagery

The resulting shoots have since gone viral, being shared almost 200,00 times, as the world has discovered that these girls can truly “do it all.”

Image credits: HMP Couture Imagery

“Our daughters do not have to choose,” Heather said. “My parents taught me that I could be anything I wanted growing up. I didn’t realize until I was much older that everyone is not that blessed.”

Image credits: HMP Couture Imagery

“I hope that every little girl that sees this series can see that there is no box. Whatever their dreams are, they can achieve them.”

Image credits: HMP Couture Imagery

What do you think? Did you have to ‘choose’ when you were a child? Do we subconscious put our kids in unnecessary boxes sometimes? Let us know in the comments!