Dear Ears,

We were together for a long time, 11 whole years, and I would never take those years for granted. In fact, I miss those times. I miss the times when you would stick out of my hair, even though it drove me crazy. There are times that I don't miss though. I don't miss the times where I would come home crying from school because some stupid kid called me Dumbo (original joke about big ears). I don't miss the times when I threw a fit at my mom because I didn't want to wear a ponytail (even when my hair was a curly mess) because they would show you off. Most of all, I don't miss when you used to be yanked on at recess.

I'm writing you this letter to apologize because it was not your fault you were so big on my tiny head, it really wasn't. It wasn't your fault that you made me more self-conscious. It wasn't your fault that kids didn't like you. We were born this way, and I'm sorry I didn't realize that until now.

It's been seven years now since I got the surgery to "slim you down" or "pin you back" -- whatever you want to call it. Don't get me wrong, I like my new ears. I wear my hair up now, I don't mind wearing earrings now, and they actually can hold headphones. If headbands were still in style, I would totally rock a headband with my new ears.

My new ears have taught me a lot, but most of all they remind me of how I should have never listened to those kids that gave me a hard time because I had bigger than the average ears. My self-worth is not dependent off of the size of my ears because let's be real, they're just ears.

I'll never forget you.

With love,

Maddi