We need to be more careful with the words that we’re articulating

‘Cause up til now all these rhymes have been self-deprecating

All the girls obsessed with “depressed” and self-harm,

Ringing the alarm at the barcodes on their arms

Wanting to scan them and see what they’re worth

Not seeing the perfection they’ve had since birth

Some girls need to wake up, no make up, and shape up

Their attitudes, quit thinking their lives about to break up

And fall apart.

If they only like your facial art,

I promise to you they’re not looking at your heart.

It’s easy to get caught up in the mascara bottles

When the boys of today think that this is Top Model

And they’re Tyra Banks, get to judge everybody

And I mean, they think they can judge. Every. Body.

 

It’s easy for me to tell you what’s wrong

When I’ve been living like that for so long

Bright red shirt and dirty paws

I’m perfect because I don’t have flaws

I have traits that make me unique

Things that make my creativity peak

Things that often get in my way

Or pick out the wrong words to say

I’m not saying that I’m the best at anything,

I’ll confess I’m a hot mess at everything

It’s the difference between consistent and accurate

I can split the arrow on the left side of the target

 

But I’m still Wonder Woman - I can do anything

I was working two jobs teaching classes last spring

I had a concussion, worked the color guard team

Acted in the school play, classes Honors, AP

With the problems at home, it was a struggle to try

Dad was always busy to help us get by.

Mom was a vegetable, my brother reclusive.

Thrown into adulthood, happiness was illusive.

But it’s all over now. I powered through hell

My family and I have a story to tell.

Sometimes you need to be pushed to breaking

To realize the bullshit you’re capable of taking

And it makes you stronger to know what you are

I’m not ashamed to have battle scars.

 

It’s not a thing of comfort to flatter myself

I feel like I should want to become someone else

Like that’s normal, to want to be in disaster

Self-assurance is a thing that no one wants to master

There’s something romantic about being damaged goods

These girls wanted to come off as damaged as they could

If they found a way to show more hurt, they would

Refusing to get better, like they know they should

I am this culture’s black sheep

Because I’m not careful with the things that I eat

As a dancer I’m told that I should be slimmer,

But I don’t give a damn what they think of my figure.

I’m taught that I should be ashamed of my scars

But to the survivors, barcodes are part of who we are

We give too much power to strangers we see

The only person I need to make happy is me.

I like this vessel the way that it is

Not gonna change it, you can’t fix flawless.