i am a girl, a female.
i carry this weight on my shoulders because there isn't a moment when i can remove it and accept that i'm flawed.
i try to be 100% me, the broken me, the imperfect me but i only am when i peel off my clothes, let my hair loose, and stare at myself in the mirror.
i see that even then, i am really looking at a body and not a soul.
i am beautiful but i am taught to self-hate the way children are taught their alphabet.
i hear more songs about sex than about true, deep love.
i go to school eight hours a day and learn to forget.
i am told that people who are on popular magazines, people who get famous for plump lips, are the people i should follow.
i am constantly being pressured to wear makeup to have a desirable face; a small nose, big eyes, and clear skin.
i am treated less than a man even though i am equally capable, simply because our bodies are different.
i am not respected when i ask people not to touch my body because it is my body alone.
i become tired of the eyes washing over me as i walk through halls so i pull down my sweater.
i am more than just a girl, a female.
i am more than just a body and brain.
