This past year, I had to have two surgeries. One on my right hip and one on my left hip. The surgeries were a blessing because they took away the intense pain that I had been dealing with for a year. However, the physical scars that were left behind were larger than I expected.

As vain as it is, the scar was the most difficult part of the surgery. The recovery was easy because I was so relieved that the pain was gone that I didn’t care about having to take it easy for a few months. But seeing the two long, dark pink, angry scars on my hips every time I changed clothes was unsettling.

I thought about what it would be like to wear a bathing suit somewhere and have people stare at my scars. I wondered if they would show at all if I wore my favorite jean shorts. Then I laughed and thought about how I could officially never work as a model now (as if this was a career option before).

It wasn’t until awhile after I had both of my surgeries that I came across a quote on Pinterest that changed how I look at my scars:

“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

- "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams

I had to read this quote twice for it to really sink in. But what I took from it was this; the only people who would judge someone else’s scars are the people who don’t understand what it’s like to weather a storm. Because when you’ve been through something, when you’ve truly fought to get through your own personal hell, you begin to look at people differently.

You no longer just define beauty as the model on the runway, you define beauty as the person who is battling cancer and is incredibly weak, but still has a smile on their face. Or you define beauty as the soldier who lost their leg fighting for our country but would still do it again if needed. Or you define beauty as the person who has lost someone they loved but still has the strength to get up every day and live their life.

While these are all dramatic situations, my point is this: if you have scars, physical or otherwise, don’t feel like you have to hide them. While it may be awkward or uncomfortable to talk about them sometimes, your scars are a part of you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Own your scars, wear them proudly. Your scars don’t make you ugly or broken, they make you real.