The Image
Four years ago
I saw a girl
I didn't think she was very pretty
Her face wasn't too bad
She had sparkly eyes with long eyelashes
Almost pretty
Except that cleft chin
And her ears are too big
She was almost cute
Then I looked down
She didn't look like the other girls
The fat rolls on her stomach poked out
Her legs jiggled when she walked
She wasn't fat
But she wasn't skinny either
Her legs weren't long enough, hair not straight enough, waist not small enough, boobs not perky enough, grades not high enough, comments not funny enough, clothes not pretty enough, butt not round enough.
Just not good enough
She wanted someone to save her
The cuts on her body and the tears on her cheeks proved it
She wasn't good enough
Now, I see the same girl
But, she is different
Her face is prettier
Lit up with a smile and not stained with tears
Her ears are still big, but hey, it's kind of cute
I look down at the girl
Her tummy still has a little pudge
Not flat, but it doesn't need to be
Her legs jiggle a little
But whose don't?
Sometimes she doesn't believe it, but she was always good enough
She was always smart enough, pretty enough, funny enough, skinny enough, perky enough, tall enough
She just couldn't see it
But, once she let herself see she was good enough
Everyone else saw it too
Life changed
The cuts healed to scars and the tears all dried
She didn't need a savior
Just needed to see the beauty she'd tucked away in sadness
Today. she holds her head high
She knows she's good enough
And now,
When I walk away from the mirror
Four years later,
I do so with a smile
Proud of who I was
Who I am
And who I will become