I'm not afraid of my truth

I've come to the realization that I can't change how I feel about myself if I'm constantly hiding myself from people. How can I learn to like myself if I can't be myself? So I'm forcing myself to be vulnerable. No more hiding, no matter how scared I am. I fully expect to lose friends over some things. My family will see me thru a different light, but hopefully that's okay. It's going to take me a while. I'm still scared of putting some things out there. but, in time, I'll find myself and no longer let fear lead my life. No more hiding for me.

I plan to cover everything. The joys, the pains, the changes. Every little physical or emotional thing. Not everything will shock you. Especially the things I start with. Yes, I'm taking the easy route and starting with the things that don't scare me anymore. The things that I don't feel vulnerable when discussing them. But eventually I'll get to the bits that people don't know. The bits that terrify me to mention. I just have to work up the courage to get it out.

And, like with La Bell et la Bete, I'm writing all this in a journal and posting it online. However I won't be omitting things online. (For those unfamiliar with that journal: I was trying to put myself back together after being told by the guy I was seeing that I  wasn't worth the fight. Good news, it had a happy ending. Not with that guy, but with a much better man. Which is part of the reason behind this.)

Yes, I'm in a relationship and it's pretty serious. He sees something in me that I can't fathom. And I guess this is a good way to start this journey. How I see myself. Because, well, that's the big issue here. The way I see myself isn't all that great. And I can pinpoint why. I was trained to see myself that way.

I'm struggling to write down how I see myself because it's painful. And this is far from a cry for attention. I don't want to hear I'm pretty or I'm beautiful. Because, quite frankly, I don't believe you. Don't waste your time. I'm far from those things. I don't remember a time when I actually thought I was those things.

I'm broken. I'm useless. I'm a freak. I'm overweight. I've got scars all over the place. I'm different. I'm too tall. My smile isn't natural. I'm too different. I'm not pretty. I'm not beautiful. I'm not model thin. I don't have perfect skin.
My feet are deformed. I'm weak. I'm stupid. I'm awkward. I'm not confident. I'm unappealing. I'm nothing. I'm UGLY.

I've lived my whole life being compared. It seemed so natural. So normal. I grew up being compared to my sister. That was horrible. I'm nothing like my sister. I never should be. If you want another one of her, clone her. But I don't think the world can handle it. Trust me. Funny enough, in a pretty dark part of my family's past my dad told me to never be like my sister. I'll get to that time later. It's not pertinent right now.

I've been compared to ex-girlfriends. A lot. That was worse than being compares to my sister. And, like in La Belle et la Bete, I think I'll call my exes Gastons. Their real names don't matter. Gaston #1, oh he's prolly gonna get an entry all to himself. He was that destroying. And that entry might come pretty soon just so I can get him behind me. But, anyways, he only compared me to an ex once, but it was pretty demeaning. Looking back, I should have gotten out sooner, but he was my first. But back to the comparison. I wasn't allowed to be friends with his best friend because one of his previous girlfriends dumped him for the guy. And I was told this after we had been dating for prolly 6 months or more. I didn't realize how demeaning that was until just now. Even tho he was my first in EVERYTHING, I had such low self-control that I was going to hop into some random stranger's bed. Wow. What a jackass. His entry might get written tonight. But not here. This isn't about him. He just helped. Next ex comparison....

Gaston #3 gets the reward for worst constant comparison ever. I knew he hated his ex. He told me constantly. She did some pretty unforgivable things. Yet this never stopped him from telling me how much I was like her. And it was never in a good way. It was constantly demeaning and attacking. Always done when he was mad at something or we were in a fight. He would tell me after the fact that he didn't mean it and knew I was nothing like her. But that never stopped him from doing it again and again and again.

But the worst comparison of all goes to society. I grew up being compared to the unattainable. Every magazine staring back at me with their size 0 waist and flawless skin that I'd never have. I'd never be able to fit into that mold, no matter how much I pushed and prodded and squeezed and sucked in. If that was the image of beauty, then how could I ever be seen as being remotely okay to look at? How can I see myself as pretty when I don't look like them? They're what's wanted by the male gender, not me. I'm leftovers. Why would anyone want me when they can have that?

And therein lies my problem. I grew up in a world of comparisons. I can't look at myself any other way. I know all those things I wrote in that paragraph aren't true. But that doesn't change the power they have over me. One day they'll be just words, but that day is not today. Nor tomorrow. Nor this year nor the next. I've been tying to rewire my brain for years. It hasn't happened yet. It's not something that will happen over night. I'm working on it, tho.

I hate how I've been brainwashed into hating myself so much. But it makes me happy to see how society's changing. The models and celebrities in those magazines are standing up and holding the media accountable. They're posting their normal selves. Some of them are even forcing their pictures to be unedited. It gives me hope for the young girls growing up now. It gives me hope for my daughter, if I ever have one. The world's changing and I want to change with it.

I have a favor to ask to those reading this, and it's kinda a big one. I understand if you can't do it. When you see me in the real world or talk to me online, don't tell me I'm pretty or beautiful or gorgeous. Don't put those words on pictures of me. It might be the truth in your eyes, but it's not the truth I see. It only reminds me of all those things I see instead. I know you've got the best intentions, but it's doing more harm than good in my fragile psyche. And I can't handle it anymore. You might see the beauty, but all I can focus on are the flaws.