Words do hurt.
High school alone is a stressful time, but having to worry about what others are saying about you makes the stress build up. During eighth grade, many people pointed out how I had acne. Hearing my family, classmate, and friends talk about my skin caused me to go to my doctor’s office to get medication to help with my acne. Little did I know, the medicine that my doctor gave me peeled off my skin; so badly that even putting water on my skin caused me pain. When freshman year came along, my skin just started healing, but I was left with my complexion being extremely red. I remember not hearing anyone say anything about my skin, until my English class received a new kid. The new kid sat right behind me and was the first person to point out that my skin was red. After he mentioned it, everyone else in my class was mentioning it to me. I felt as if when anyone was talking to me, they were looking at my skin. I started to wear makeup, but that just made me look extremely pale; also it did not help the fact that I was still red. I did not go to school for about two months due to surgeries and I hoped when I came back no one would point out my skin again. I was wrong; I got the nickname “winter,” the first day back. I was taken back by the nickname and other comments I heard especially because I was just had surgeries. I remember no one bothered to ask me why I was away for so long. I lost all self-esteem and finally after four years, I am comfortable in my own skin. I spent most of high school focusing on my skin and making sure I had somewhat of a perfect complexion. I added so much stress to my own life because of comments from other students.