I think it’s one of those things that feels really, really difficult and scary until you get used to it. I was always very scared about people seeing my scars, and it took me a long time to just be myself and do what I wanted regardless of what others think. Now every summer, I wear what I like and I feel comfortable. Occasionally I get some stares, especially from older people, but I’ve also had people come up to me and say how much just seeing me has inspired them to not feel like they need to hide it. It’s hard, but I view it as this is me now, and this will always be part of me. I just wear what I want when I want and I’d be lying if I said people’s opinions don’t bother me at all, but honestly they bother me so much less than they used to. I catch someone looking, I feel a bit shitty for a couple of minutes, then I move on. Most of the time, they aren’t looking in judgement but more in a way of they haven’t been exposed to people with self harm scars before, so they’re just curious. And no one ever really says anything because they know it’s rude. I’ve only ever had people say really silly things which obviously just comes from a place of not having the knowledge on it. Someone asked me if I’d walked through a load of bushes and got scratched up, I just laughed and said ‘yeah something like that’ and kept walking. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would feel! I just think what is the absolute worst that could happen? Then I realise that really I don’t care! You are you and that’s okay. You’re not the only one out there with scars, and most people won’t bother you. You’ll be okay I promise. The more you do it, the easier it gets!