“Disculpe, Señora, What Time Is It?”

I turned to a kid who, based on the boldness with which he addressed me, must still be in elementary school.

“Ten past four,” I answered and thought about how, if he had dared to ask that question a year ago, I would have probably responded in military time to retaliate.

I am no longer bothered by the title though.

At 25, I am openly and unapologetically living my señora era to the fullest.

I “officially” became a señora two years ago when I got married, but the colorful—and inescapable—conversations about the role started months before. The second our engagement hit Facebook, I started to receive congratulations sprinkled with unsolicited advice about what would be expected of me as a wife, as la señora de la casa. While I loved my fiancé and could not deny my excitement to start a life together, I was not ready to become a person who sounded so foreign to my essence, and I was even less interested in saying goodbye to the person I had worked so hard to become.

The fear of being called a señora is justified when you visualize the traditional forecast: a deluge of ephemeral happiness over an empty house if you become a señora by age or an eternal haze that prevents you from discerning love from sacrifice if you become one by marriage.

So what changed in the past two years? Nothing.

I am still the same periwinkle-loving artist who fearlessly fights dragons for her family, minutes after sobbing over a book-to-film adaptation. I am still the same 4’11” fusion cuisine enthusiast who will never turn down an invitation to a cafecito (bonus points if there’s pan dulce). I am still the same cumbia-loving dancer who gets nervous during phone calls but will do a stand-up skit under the right amount of peer pressure. I am still the same multifaceted writer who needs to keep going because she feels uncomfortable with silence.

But, if becoming a señora didn’t radically change my life, why do I even call myself one?

Because I am a señora and this is the 21st century.

Becoming a señora, whether by age or marriage, does not strip you from you. You enjoy the same flavors, uphold the same values, find comfort in the same hobbies, battle the same monsters, defend the same causes, and hustle for the same ambitions.