Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

To Any Girl Who Feels Lonely and Ugly-

Long ago, you remember your mother telling you the tale of the Ugly Duckling. He had been an unsightly, unwanted creature, but when he grew up, he became a beautiful swan. Even though you enjoy the tale, the lesson goes over your head and you carry along.
And then high school hits and suddenly, you`re the ugly duckling.

You`re awkward and strange, at least, according to everyone else. A freak, they refer to you. You`re too weird to be seen with. You`re not pretty enough to be loved by a boy.

You`re not oblivious to what they say when they talk about you. You see it, when you say something they think is laughable, they snicker and whisper close to each other, though they`re oblivious that you`re still in earshot and  you can hear everything, though dulled.

"What`s wrong with me?" You ask yourself; you`re desperate to know what you can do to change yourself and be accepted.

First, you look at yourself. You might be the girl who dresses differently. Or the girl who has a note pad with her incase a sketch or an idea comes to her. Or the one who likes science, or history, or math. Or the one whose music and movie taste is off-beat.

And then you look at them. They`re. . . ethereal, in your eyes. Blonde, delicate, and clad in designer clothes that are never above a size four- they are a fascinating kind of species. They seem like they always get the boys and are never lonely. They`re the ones who never do their school work because they`re too busy having a social life. But, despite yourself, you might think that they`re perfect in every way.

You try to change yourself. Starving yourself to lose weight, caking yourself in self-spray tan that they were that you admit, think makes you look like an Oompa Loompa , and the clothes that they think are cool.

Don`t be like them. Your mother advises you when you change. Be yourself. Some of those girls, the only jobs they`ll get are on stripper poles.  

But, you don`t believe it.  

You believe being like them will make you better.

Don`t believe yourself.

You`re beautiful.

Beauty is not a one-set thing. You don`t have to be a size 00 to be beautiful. You don`t have to have a tan to be beautiful.  You don`t need to wear their clothing to be beautiful.

Beautiful is the girl who is smart, who knows her stuff. Beautiful is the girl who writes or draws or plays chess. Beautiful is the girl who had different tastes and thinks for herself.

Those popular girls- they`re really a dime-a-dozen bunch. It`s perfectly okay to break away from the mold and be yourself.

Because, one day, that ugly duckling you think you see in the mirror, will be a swan.

Love,

A Former Ugly Duckling