Breaking Up With Beautiful
Emma W.
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"Breaking Up With Beautiful" is a poem detailing my experience with an eating disorder in middle school. During the pandemic—while I was still in seventh grade—I was influenced by dozens of ads and videos on social media to "lose weight" and become beautiful. The endless feed of "stick-skinny models" made me go to unimaginable lengths to achieve what I thought would make me satisfied. However, this only led me down a destructive path. Today, I hope I can share my story for other teenagers who are experiencing the same events; I wish to be a voice to speak out against social pressure and promote healing.
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To me, writing represents a vital pathway of self-expression. Whenever I feel frustrated, saddened, or otherwise impacted by the world around me—whether that's through what I see on the news, daily interactions, or my personal life—I turn to writing and poetry as a medium to heal and move forward.