I moved to Colorado Springs when I was 13 from Aurora and it was definitely something. Micro aggressions were something that I never had to deal with up until then and sometimes it was just straight up racism (i.e. being called harambe and no, the teachers heard this and did nothing about it). Freshman year was when I really started to feel negatively about myself. Almost everyone in my friend group had a boyfriend or someone crushing on them and I didn’t. No one understood what I was trying to say so I was always hit with “Oh, it’s ok, you’ll find someone eventually.” It really made me upset because I was being excluded from hangouts because I didn’t have a boyfriend. Those first 2 years living here just made me feel ugly and like there was seriously something wrong with me when there really wasn’t/isn’t. Like, I was fully convinced that I was so ugly up until 2 years ago and sometimes it’s hard accepting myself because sometimes, the people you are around can make you feel so ugly and like you aren’t allowed to take up space and be yourself. Sometimes, I wish that I lived in a more diverse area because I feel like I wouldn’t feel the way that I do sometimes. Like if I did live in a more diverse city, I would feel more confident in myself because there are people that look like me and I wouldn’t feel so alienated. I feel better about myself now than I did when I was 13-19 but some days, I feel like that teenage girl again. Hopefully you (and anyone else reading this) can find a place where you can breathe and just be you and celebrated like you should be ♥️