Hoping for Acceptance

#teamgap

I used to my insecure about the gap in my teeth. In elementary school I got made fun of and pick on by kids my age, older than me, and even younger than me because of the gap in my teeth and a speech impediment that it caused. I felt so bad about myself that I went home and asked my mom to teach me how to properly sound the letter 'S' as if I didn't learn it correctly when I was younger. I would get so frustrated because I couldn't figure it out.

I never smiled with my mouth open for any pictures, school or otherwise. I didn't like to look at it by myself in mirrors either. Looking in the mirror I would use my finger to cover it up and smile thinking, "see I could have a pretty smile if we could fix it." I always wished that we had money for braces but we didn't.

As I grew up I slowly tried to correct my lisp by myself and started to not notice it. In the 9th grade I started a speech therapy at school.

I looked at relatives pictures and wondered how they could be so happy and comfortable with it. I ended up meeting other people that were just as comfortable and thought that if they could be fine with it, so can I. Now I get told all sorts of things that I never heard like, "I think it's cute" or "It gives you character, promise you'll never get rid of it."

I just feel so blessed to have been through all of what I've been through. I know what it's like to not feel like you're accepted or enough but you have to own it. I think if you want to you can turn your biggest insecurities into the things you like the most about yourself. Now I think I look better in pictures and life than I ever have with the confidence in myself that I found. I love the gap in my teeth and no one will ever change my mind about it.