Why I Wasn't Born Like Her
Alexandra M.
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"Why I Wasn't Born Like Her" is a poem written when I was in recovery for anorexia. The intention of the disorder to me was to make every feature of mine seem unattractive and ill-favored by society. The people I saw on social media platforms appeared ten levels above me and made me feel like I could never reach today's standard of beauty no matter how hard I fought. "Why I Wasn't Born Like Her" is a representation of how my thoughts work. First, I would insult and degrade who I was as a person; then, a glimmer of light, shining through my self-destructive thoughts would remind me of what my support team had said: "Beauty is everywhere and in everyone. No one person is superior to another because the difference between us is what makes us unique. Why would you want to be another, when who you are is like no other in the world?" Although I don't always remember to be positive, the repetition of thinking kindly about myself is what I strive for. My poem may show the negative first, but I think what you tell yourself after is most important. Don't let the degrading thoughts sit. Combat them with the positive.
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I create meaning and share that through art, which invokes emotions in the people around me. It’s two things at once; it feels like a superpower. As an avid artist, I am moved by emotional depictions of experiences. I hope to capture that in my art by paying attention to the details I see and feel.
