America

Where they say to be yourself

But "yourself" should be beautiful

So you make Yourself

Only you know you will never compete 

With the image on the screen

Or the perfect aesthetic squares

Of "candid" moments

And #nofilter #nomakeup 

But she filtered through the 

73 tries

And chose the flattering angle

To hide the bags under her eyes

But your #nofilter #nomakeup

Hot mess real life

Tiny boobs thick thighs

Could never compete 

So you sink into a darkness 

That whispers glamorous lies

About a diet

And midnight exercise

That burns the fat

Oh, the fat

And distracts from worlthessness

Because you are becoming skinny

And you haven't yet arrived

And that number

Pierces your mind

And you say

When you get there you'll stop

But you're addicted to the diet

And the midnight exercise

America

Take a dose of reality

And realize that social media

Is the highlights

And the prettiest "candid" moments

And the best hair and face days

Are the realest some people show

But not the realest they get

Simply, I ask this - 

Guard the thoughts that enter your mind

Before you post or scroll

And know that it's okay to be real 

And to look beyond the new profile picture

To the girl who's just as insecure as you are

And selected her best photo

Hoping you'll comment

And call her beautiful

Because she knows

In this photo

She is

Remember

Some are better at hiding than others

But all just want to be found

America

We need to stop hiding

Behind a perfect social profile

And let people into the messy 

Broken 

Real

Moments of our lives.

And be found.