I am free.

I was walking along the streets today and for the first time in my life, I felt completely comfortable in my own skin. And I realized, this is how I have been feeling ever since I got back from England. I stopped trying to find fault with how I look, and the way I act. For so many years, I have been faking my confidence; I forced myself to walk taller, speak louder, and initiate conversations despite feeling awkward. But now, I'm different. Now, I do these things because I can, because I want to.

I haven't changed much...at least not where you can tell. I am still me- still not skinny, still not pretty, still having my boring eyeliner, still suffering from bad hair days. I am still me, but I am not the me who was ridden with insecurities and a torturous desire to become gorgeous-looking. I look at myself in the mirror now, and I like what I see. I like my crazy all-over-the-place hair, I like my double eyelids, I like how the new lipstick looks on me, and I like how my clothes feel on me.
Of course there are still things about me I would change, but I look forward to them as pre-improvements rather than flaws.

Right now, right this minute, I am happier than any pretty girl you see on the streets. Right now, right this minute, I am free from the shackles of my own insecurities.