Illustration by Nicholle Kobi

I was obviously never destined to be one of the “pretty girls,” and I’ve known that for a long time. My nose was always a bit too large, my thigh-to-ass ratio was always off and not to mention I was totally weird in high school. I was the epitome of “penis repellent,” – I stayed in the friend-zone. But that didn’t stop girls from being mean to me and it didn’t stop me from desperately trying to gain the approval of my peers. There was a point in time where I wasn’t sure whom I hated more, those kids for not accepting me, or myself for being too different for them to relate to. I am eternally grateful to those kids now. If it weren’t for their indifference and frequent cruelty, I wouldn’t have made such an epic transformation. I transformed into myself and I own it.

This isn’t a post about how I “glo’d up,” or bashing those kids who were cruel to me and the guys who’ve dissed me. I didn’t lose weight or gain curves, my makeup skills still suck, and I’m still extremely weird. In fact, nothing has physically changed about me (and I still get friend-zoned frequently). But after learning to not just embrace my flaws, but use them to my advantage, I gained the confidence to love myself and receive love in return. Instead of being shy and forcing myself to pretend I’m not a film buff, I now blurt random movie lines out at any given moment. Instead of being super uncomfortable in clothes that aren’t really my style, I tell myself it’s okay to wear combat boots in the summertime with a sundress. Ever since I accepted that I can’t change who I am, I stopped being worried about who liked me and who don’t. And you know what? I ended up attracting amazing people in my life, people who love me and think I’m great.

Me on the left

My point of this post is for anyone reading this and feeling like you need to go through exhausting regimens to transform into this great person. You don’t have to be anyone but you, boo. Because the right people will always love you for it, and more importantly, so will you.

“Tiara Letrice is a Staff Writer at #mygirlsquad. She enjoys hot cups of tea, modern ballet, and Quentin Tarantino

Written by: Tiara Lettrice, Staff Writer, #mygirlsquad