Hiding | Teen Ink

Hiding

December 21, 2022
By maliacliu BRONZE, San Jose, California
maliacliu BRONZE, San Jose, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Her eyelashes were too short

Her thighs were too big

Her nose was too wide

Her lips were too thin

Her arms were too hairy

Her face was too long

Her eyebrows were messy

Her hair was all wrong

And so she hid

Altered and changed

Shifted and molded, all rearranged

She covered the darkness under her eyes

Creams and powders to complete her disguise

She masked her scars under paint and patches

Covered up her bruises, stretch marks, and scratches

But what she didn’t realize is what she was hiding

Her struggles and victories

Strength through the fighting

She was uniqueness and love

Joy and determination

And yet it all disappeared

Obscured by layers of foundation 

She let them all dictate the way she should be

Her insides, her outsides and all in between

Cause she never saw what was really true

Beauty isn’t made

It’s all inside of you


The author's comments:

I wanted to write this piece because in today's society young people, girls especially, are so heavily influenced by the media. It is shown that to be "beautiful" you have to look a certain way and fit into these narrow standards. We often despise ourselves because we compare to the unrealistic stereotype on TV. We are encouraged to coverup our flaws and change ourselves even though beauty isn't a concrete goal. Everyone is beautiful just as they are, scars and all. 


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