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Feel: Pretty
As I gaze at the mirror
At the end of the day
The dark circles from being a hard worker
The wrinkles from smiling and laughing so hard
The tummy from happily eating out with friends
The details that remind me I'm imperfect
I see all of it now
Then, I realized I’d rather feel pretty if
I had the makeup and oversized T-shirt on but
I was just afraid
I covered my “flaws”
Because I’m afraid of showing my bare face
The dark circles that make my eyes look bruised
The wrinkles that make me look like I’m aging
The belly that is nothing but fat to me
I hid them
To live up to my relatives’ beauty standards
A pale, youthful, flawless face
Before, I really just wanted…
To look pretty
(Now read backwards)

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Self love was and still is a rough journey for me. I bullied myself for having the face I was born with and beat myself up for the comments my relatives made about my facial appearance whether it was the acne, the chubby tummy, or the dark circles I abnormally had for a Korean. As I grew up, I realized I didn't want to feel so self conscious anymore; I didn't want to feel inferior to other people just because of the way I looked. Because I was much more than just my face. I was living a life with so many supportive friends, laughter, and love surrounding me that I didn't want to just give it all away because I cared more about the way I looked. And this poem describes how I've changed to become the person I am today. Although not extremely confident now, I can say that I am much more accepting of the way I am.