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I am the first and the only female wrestler at my school. I get tons of attention from teachers and other students, but I feel guilty for being the center of attention just because I'm a girl. Can I do anything about this? I don't feel like I deserve all this attention.
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You are experiencing a very common feeling for the "first" of anything. Groundbreakers like you are important; they're innovators and allow others to follow. Before you, there was the first girl to attend a formerly all-male school, and even the first girl to play any sport at all. Without the "firsts," girls and women wouldn't be in the position they are today. That said, who wants to be first anyway? You are always thought of as "the girl wrestler," and it may seem like your entire identity is built on that. There are more aspects to you than just wrestling. Although you may love the sport and competing, you may also be a great cook, or an amazing singer, or a killer biology student. The problem is, of course, that you are a first, and for now the only. You do deserve the attention, but this doesn't make it easy to accept. People are trying to be friendly and appreciative when they notice you for your accomplishment, so you don't want to offend them by being rude. But next time someone compliments you, you can thank them and then nicely point out that you don't always want to get noticed for this. Or you can change the subject and talk about other things going on in your life. Your friends can be especially helpful here by not bringing it up all the time, either. It should be easy to ask them to do that. Because of brave people like you, there will be another "first" soon enough, and you will soon be out of the spotlight. So try to enjoy it a little while you can, too.
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