maggietaylor_

 

what a shame.
we gew up never believing
that we were beautiful
because no one ever told us
that we were

we made friends that liked to complain
about their stomachs, noses and thighs
and we joined in..
because that's what you do
isn't it?
and so we never told ourselves, either

IN 8th grade a boy we barely knew
called us fat
we will never know if he was joking
or why

we were bullied 
about our, long, messy hair
so we chopped it all off

and we became invisble. 

it was years before we resurfaced
before we learned to do things
just for the sake of ourselves

someone tells us we are beautiful
and now we don't believe them
but we have new friends
and they tell us too
and then we hear it from a stranger
mom apologises for not telling us enough
for when we were younger

and slowly, we start to believe it
and now we know.
we know that
despite everything we've been told
being beautiful
has nothing to do with our worth

but how unfourtunate we think,
that we couldn't know
that we were beautiful
until someone else told us we were

We were never even told it was an option.

You've got the words to change a nation
but you're biting your tongue
You've spent a life time stuck in silence
afraid you'll say something wrong

"Just because you fail once, it doesn't mean you're going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself because if you don't, then who will? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about." 

Tell me again,

why am I here?


 

We met in kindergarten. We were best friends.

She always told me she loved my eyes. I didn't quite know why.

I was in love with her, so of course my face lit up immensely whenever she said it.

She was beautiful, kind, and extremely funny.

We'd be talking about nothing, and she'd turn to me and whisper,

"I like your eyes."

One day, I was playing basketball,

waiting for her to drive over to my house to have a game with me.

Suddenly, I got a phone call.

It was her mom. She was in a panic.

I couldn't quite understand what she was saying. It sounded like,

"Aaron, come quick! Kelsey, accident, Main Street! Blood. Come now!"

I had no clue what happened,

so I ran to Main Street with my basketball shorts and a tee shirt on.

I saw Kelsey's mom helplessly crying, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

I saw a totaled car, blood everywhere.

Then I saw her, Kelsey.

My heart stopped as I frantically ran over to her.

"Kelsey? Kelsey!" She was unconscious. I started crying.

I know it isn't very manly, but I couldn't help it.

Before I could say anymore, the medics took her away,

the main source of blood coming from her head.

I went to the hospital that night,

I went every night.

in fact, the only time I left was to go out to eat, but that's it.

The doctors tried getting me to leave, but I refused.

It was all my fault.

If it wasn't for me, wanting to play basketball with her,

she wouldn't be going through this.

It was already four days, and she hasn't woken up.

On the fifth day, I saw her eyes gently open.

"Kelsey?" I called.

She wasn't quite awake yet.

Suddenly, doctors came rushing in, telling me I had to wait outside.

I did, for a few hours.

One of the doctors finally came out saying,

"I understand that you're Kelsey's friend, Aaron?"

"Yes," I whispered.

He bit his lip.

"She woke up, she's fine,

but I'm afraid she has long term memory loss."

"Are you serious?" I almost shouted.

"I'm afraid so."

I didn't meet his gaze. I couldn't.

I wasn't going to say anything, so he spoke again.

"You can go see her if you want,

but she doesn't remember anything, not even her mom."

I walked in, trembling in horror.

I saw her. She looked helpless as she slept.

I waited a few hours, until I saw her eyes opening gently again.

I expected doctors to run in, rushing me out.

Instead, she looked me straight in the eyes, and whispered,

"I don't know you, but I like your eyes."