The speaker describes herself as a girl whose look, with its heavy eyeliner, paint-splattered combat boots and dark band shirts, makes people assume she is hard and unfriendly. The poem pushes back against that assumption. She loves cats, cries at sad movies and sleeps with stuffed animals because they comfort her at night. Underneath the armor, she is sensitive and caring.
The speaker sounds defensive at first, then more confident. She says people judged her cover and never read her content, a book metaphor that sums up the poem's point. She also claims to speak for "every other girl," suggesting that even strong people have moments of doubt. The final stanza pulls the earlier images together into one sentence, as if she is finally putting her whole self in one place. The closing line, "tougher than I need to be," admits that her toughness is partly a shield. The mood is honest, a little vulnerable, and quietly proud.