"In middle school, I was the textbook definition of awkward: braces, acne, a bad perm, and a body I didn't know how to dress or love. I was uncomfortable in my skin, and I'm sure everyone noticed. One afternoon in the hallway, a boy looked directly at me and said, loudly and confidently, that I was the "ugliest thing" he had ever seen."
"In my 20s and 30s, even when others told me I looked great, I couldn't accept it. Compliments felt like kindness, not truth. I drowned myself in oversize sweatshirts, convinced that baggy clothes could hide my body and, somehow, my flaws. I avoided photos, avoided rooms where I'd stand out, and never once walked into a place thinking I belonged there."
A boy loudly called me the 'ugliest thing' in a middle-school hallway, and I believed the statement as truth that reshaped my self-image. I was physically awkward—braces, acne, a bad perm—and deeply uncomfortable in my skin. That insult persisted through my 20s and 30s despite physical changes and compliments. Insecurity led me to hide in oversized clothes, avoid photos and social attention, and feel undeserving. A later encounter with the same boy who flirted with me produced confusion rather than vindication. Ultimately, I reached acceptance and embraced body confidence in my 50s.
Read at Business Insider
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