I'm Perfect | Teen Ink

I'm Perfect MAG

September 13, 2010
By SavvyPants SILVER, Roy, Utah
SavvyPants SILVER, Roy, Utah
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Basically, I'm for whatever gets you through the night..." Frank Sinatra


I’m perfect.

Do you see, do you see how perfect I am?
Do you see how perfectly I fix my face to look lovely?
Do you see how perfectly I do my hair to look so soft and beautiful?
Do you see how perfectly I act?

Everything about me is perfect, I know you think it.
It’s in your eyes when you look at me while I walk down the halls.

You stare at the people who are vying for my attention, and you think I’m just perfect as you mouth the words;
“God, I hate her.”

And so I tell myself, every day, just how perfect I am.
When I wake up in the morning, I think of how perfectly I must have looked while I slept.
When I shower I look down and admire just how perfectly I’m shaped.
When I fix my perfect hair and do my perfect make-up, I tell myself just how perfect I truly I am.

And when I walk into the kitchen and see him leaning against the counter,
When I smile and choke down the newest ­flavor of bile that rises in my throat, I still know I’m perfect.
When I don’t bother to ask his name because I know he’ll be gone before I get home, I know I’m perfect.
When he leers at me and agrees with how perfect I am, I know how perfect I am.

And when I walk out the door.
And when I reach the bus stop.
And when I greet everyone with a hug.
And every time I breathe.
Every time I know just how f---ing perfect I am.

So perfect I could scream.
So perfect …
I feel full of perfection, full and round like a balloon,
Stretched so tight with perfection I just might pop and all my perfection wouldn’t make any difference.
That’s how f----ing perfect I feel!

Ah, but it’s okay. Because no matter how tight it stretches me, no matter how painful it is, I’m still perfect.
I still look perfect.
I still act perfect.
And I still feel perfectly vile residing within this skin.
But that’s not at all how I should feel.

No, no, no.
Perfect. I should feel … perfect.
And so I’ll tell myself; smile perfectly, dress perfectly.
Because I’m supposed to be f---ing perfect.

Because when I curl up at night and laugh and laugh just to hold back my tears, I’m still perfect.
Even when my face crumples and turns red and ugly, I know I’m perfect.
Because when you add the right details, when you fake the right things, add just enough empty space,
It makes you perfect.

All it takes is the right punctuation.
All it takes is the right spaces and spelling.
A little capitalization and it’s perfect.
I’m perfect.

I’m perfect.
I’mperfect.
Imperfect.

… I guess I lied.



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This article has 32 comments.


Kelly Lynn said...
on May. 8 2014 at 7:17 pm
Let me begin by stating how much I love this.  A newspaper colleage of mine gave me an issue of Teen Ink a few years ago to look at.  I read through it, and settled on this story, of which I was instantly captured. Being a writer myself, I felt such a strong connection with the young author. You see, I had wrote a song in which the ending is almost exactly the same. Great minds think alike. I have since then wanted to be able to meet the artist of this inspiring, candid story.  Are you interested at all in song writing?

TheJust ELITE said...
on Jul. 20 2012 at 6:24 pm
TheJust ELITE, Ellenton, Florida
254 articles 202 photos 945 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I feel that a hero is somebody who will stand up for their values and what they believe in and that can take any form. People that have values and have thought them through rather than those who just do what they’re told."-Skandar Keynes

"When it’

This sounds like a song the old Avril Lavigne would have sang.

on Jun. 6 2012 at 4:24 pm
Kestrel PLATINUM, Warrenton, Virginia
29 articles 11 photos 189 comments

Favorite Quote:
-There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

OH MY GOD. This is so cool. Reminds me of an Audrey Hepburn quote..."Nothing is impossible...the word itself says 'I'm possible!'"

on May. 29 2012 at 2:38 am
followingnofootsteps SILVER, Orange, California
6 articles 1 photo 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."

This is amazing. I hung onto every last word. The piece was beautiful and eloquent. 

LinsT BRONZE said...
on May. 1 2012 at 2:49 pm
LinsT BRONZE, San Ysidro, New Mexico
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
This was really cool. I love the ending  (:

on Apr. 28 2012 at 6:25 pm
i_am_so_very_large_and_towering SILVER, Mililani, Hawaii
5 articles 1 photo 114 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?"

this is so incredibly well written . . . just . . . wow. you are an amazing writer.

elizamc83 GOLD said...
on Apr. 15 2012 at 6:35 pm
elizamc83 GOLD, Concord, Massachusetts
17 articles 0 photos 84 comments

Favorite Quote:
"From now on, I don't care if my tea leaves spell 'Die, Ron, die,' I'm chucking them in the bin where they belong." -Ron Weasley

i love this so much!! nice job

on Jan. 1 2012 at 7:09 pm
leevite0126 GOLD, Spring Hill, Tennessee
14 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
if at first you don't succeed, try try again

this was amazing! i loved the ending! :) please keep writing!

on Dec. 5 2011 at 8:32 pm
DreamyNightmare SILVER, Lincoln Park, Michigan
7 articles 14 photos 7 comments
I love this! The ending where you wrote I'm perfect, I'mperfect, and Imperfect. That was very clever. 

on Sep. 30 2011 at 7:36 pm
jasont727 PLATINUM, Calabasas, California
46 articles 18 photos 87 comments

Favorite Quote:
If there was no change, there would be no butterflies.

Wow! The play on words at the end was really brilliant and clever. Thank you!

LaceeJade GOLD said...
on Sep. 25 2011 at 8:40 pm
LaceeJade GOLD, Bucyrus, Ohio
17 articles 4 photos 136 comments

Favorite Quote:
♥ I've made mistakes in my life. i've let people take advantage of me, and i accepted way less than i deserve. But, i've learned from my bad choices, and even though there are some things i can never get back and people who will never be sorry. i'll know better next time and i wont settle for anything less than i deserve. ♥

This Is Absolutly The Best Article I Have Read!!! Its Amazzing! i Love It!

on Aug. 30 2011 at 9:13 pm
RiverSong BRONZE, Baltimore, Maryland
3 articles 0 photos 100 comments

I love this! The ending was really intriguing.  I think it would be even more powerful if you took out the "I guess I lied" and just let the "I'm perfect / I'mperfect / Imperfect" speak for itself.

5/5


Kgirl BRONZE said...
on Aug. 17 2011 at 12:44 am
Kgirl BRONZE, Hopewell Junction, New York
2 articles 0 photos 30 comments
Incredible!

on Jul. 26 2011 at 4:57 am
IAmWhoIWantToBe PLATINUM, Manila, Other
41 articles 0 photos 650 comments

Favorite Quote:
‎"I’m learning how to drown out the constant noise that is such an inseparable part of my life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world: I run my world." - Beyoncé

This piece is perfect! I love, love, love it! :)))

on Jul. 4 2011 at 4:08 am
lovetildeath GOLD, Virginia Beach, Virginia
10 articles 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'm selfish, impatient, & a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, & at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.
- Marilyn Monroe

It was a very realistic piece of work it went from being perfect to normal flawed people I liked it.

on Jun. 13 2011 at 4:58 pm
Sunset_on_tomorrow SILVER, Atlanta, Georgia
9 articles 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the WORD of our LORD stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8

This is so beautiful... short and sweet. Too many authors make their pieces too long, but this is the... well, perfet length!

PJD17 SILVER said...
on May. 5 2011 at 8:36 pm
PJD17 SILVER, Belleville, Illinois
8 articles 0 photos 624 comments

Favorite Quote:
I do the best imatation of myself- Ben Folds

wow  i just read it again  i truly cant believe how good this is   there are very few stories on this website that i wish i wrote but this is most certainly one of them

on Apr. 29 2011 at 9:05 pm
DeniC483 SILVER, New Haven, Connecticut
5 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live"- unknown

This is...perfect!! No but seriously, it's amazing and I really wish I can put such waves of emotion within my writing like you did here. This piece goes from having no emotion of the author to showing the reality of everyday people- who they are behind closed doors can be completely opposite of who they desperately attempt to be. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but this is so powerful, and you are such an amazing writer for being able to come up with this <3

PJD17 SILVER said...
on Mar. 16 2011 at 6:30 pm
PJD17 SILVER, Belleville, Illinois
8 articles 0 photos 624 comments

Favorite Quote:
I do the best imatation of myself- Ben Folds

That was outstanding

on Dec. 28 2010 at 9:47 pm
CoughingColours BRONZE, Athens, Alabama
2 articles 41 photos 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
~Pablo Picasso

Oh my goodness. When I first read this I almost cried. I absolutely love this! I like how the emotion grows more frantic as she explains. Truly amazing