I am ME

I avoid social media

Because those girls have skinny waists and

Flashy white teeth

And those are the things that society deems as beautiful

That I do not have

Nevermind the fact that

The freckles on my nose reflect patterns of stars that shine down on a cloudless summer night

Nevermind the fact that im an empath that feels the pain of others sometimes deeper than I feel the pain of my own

Nevermind the fact that I don’t base the quality of my day upon how many people hit a like button

Nevermind the fact that smiles of strangers passing by are so contagious I sometimes feel like a fool for feeling joy through the expressions on someone else’s face

Nevermind the fact that I’m smart and kind and forgiving and encouraging

Nevermind the fact that I’m good with faces and if you tell me your name I won’t likely forget it

Nevermind the fact that I’m open-minded enough to hear out your side of an argument and strong enough to explain my own

Nevermind all of these qualities that make me the kind of person that would give you the shirt off of my back

Why?

Because of society? Jealousy? Narcissism? Zealousness? Over-compensation?

To hell with society’s beauty standards.

I am beautiful.

Because I am ME.