a day in the life

POEM BY ANONYMOUS

Wake up. Look in the mirror.

You notice the shine in your eyes and you notice your hair looking flowy.

Your skin looks clear and fresh.

You have your mom’s height and your dad’s nose.

You are a combination of the people you love the most.

You love yourself. Today’s gonna be a good day…

Enter the school. You feel good at first. You see other students

And all the sudden, all you see are your flaws.

You are not small enough. You are not graceful enough. You are not normal enough. You are not friendly enough.

Get on the bus to go home. Open Instagram.

You have 93 likes. Scroll further.

Your best friend has 376 likes.

Staring at the likes, you think to yourself,

“Does this mean no one likes me?”

You get home, and you turn on the TV. “Aladdin” is on. Great.

But for the first time, you stare at Jasmine. You see her body.

You think to yourself, “Why don’t I look like Jasmine? Why don’t I look perfect?”

You finish your homework. You see kids playing outside. Join them.

They invite you to the pool. You agree.

But when you get there, you see all the kids in swimsuits.

You realize you look different than them. Again, you think, “Why don’t I look like them, Why don’t I look perfect?”

Walking back home, you are exhausted. You want to go to sleep and pretend nothing happened.

You lay in bed, once again looking at other people’s Instagram posts. Your mom comes in, and tells you to get off your phone.

She hugs you and says, “Good night, you are so beautiful.”

She leaves. Thinking about what she said, You remember,

You have your mom’s hair and your dad’s smile.

You are a combination of the people you love most.

You realize you are beautiful. You are you. Everyone is different.