(I'd Rather Be) My Own Kind of Beautiful | Teen Ink

(I'd Rather Be) My Own Kind of Beautiful

November 18, 2013
By xo_zozo GOLD, Rochester, Vermont
xo_zozo GOLD, Rochester, Vermont
13 articles 2 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
--Dr. Seuss


The amount of times someone–
usually a girl my age, but sometimes
an older woman–has said to me
“you’re so lucky that you’re skinny;
you’re so beautiful”

And I smiled docilely
and accepted the compliment
and continued with whatever I was doing

But the more times I heard these
“compliments” they began to
build up into a wall of undeniable panic
a frenzied question of “would they
still think I’m beautiful if I wasn’t
so thin?”

Every morning, waking up
checking my stomach to body
ratio: am I still beautiful?
Am I still thin?
At 16 the words were so connected
in my mind. I didn’t consider the
words to be synonyms when applied
to others, but when it came to myself
I did.

Every morning, waking up
looking in the mirror
Worried I had somehow grown
larger in the night.
I didn’t think that would be the worst
thing, but the people around me
did.

When I finally started asking “why”
after all, I didn’t care what my body
looked like. At least, I didn’t think
I did.

I had let these facts about my body
Be phrased in compliments and
let myself believe that if I
Started looking different
No one would care to notice me

So, yes I am still “skinny”
But it’s okay, because I
set myself free from these
Ridiculous notions that this
is what’s most important about me

To let that define me would be
as silly as someone saying
“you’re lucky you have straight
hair” and not curling it
in case they didn’t love me
anymore.

So maybe I am smaller than you
Or maybe I’m larger
But I hope you realize
That it’s rather arbitrary
To point it out, because we’re
not really supposed to be the
same…are we?

And the next time someone
“compliments” me by saying
“you’re so lucky to be skinny”
I’ll look them right in the eye and say
“I may be tiny in body
but I’m f***ing huge in spirit”


The author's comments:
Over the course of my teen and pre-teen years many people have told me how lucky I am to be thin. They phrase it as a compliment, but the truth is, telling someone that they're pretty because they're thin or lucky to be thin is pretty offensive. It belittles people and leads them to believe that the only reason they're noticed or told they're beautiful is because of the shape of their body. It's a terrible way to feel. I think everyone should be aware of what they're really saying when they compliment someone. There are so many different ways to be beautiful, and each person is beautiful in many different ways. Don't make anyone feel like one little aspect of them is the only one that matters.

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