She looked at herself in the mirror. For once she didn't use clothes to cover her rogue curves. In the mirror, she looked at the body that she had been inside of for 18 years, and for the first time ever, she didn't cringe at that body.
Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror, she would sort of embrace herself, usually to hide what she saw as flaws of her body. But this time, she embraced the stretch marks that complimented her beautiful skin.
Whenever she looked into the mirror, she would look into her memories to relive moments where she found solace in only the compliments of others. But this time, she looked into her own eyes, into her own soul, and found solace in knowing that she would forever love herself, even if her world didn't like her.
She had always been so self-conscious. She worried about how she would appear in pictures and videos so much that she would just offer to take the photo. Selfies weren't her thing.
She had always been so shy. She worried that her words were insignificant, so she barely spoke. She always found herself lost in her daydreams of an alternate world, where she could say whatever and abandon the feeling of acceptance of others.
But she's better now.
She speaks without even being spoken to. She takes pictures and smiles a smile that shows onlookers that she's in love with the body she has been inside of for 18 years. She touches the parts of her body that defy the standards of society with love because, she doesn't care what they say about her. She is upholding her own beauty standards.
"I'm beautiful," she says with a genuine smile.
