FICTION: The girl known by many names By: Apurva Mane

Once I knew this girl who was known by many names in the society. Names that were given to her by different people with different flaws, different habits, and different thoughts. Some were her relatives, some were family members, some were friends, and some were boys having no other logical work to do obviously! They all gave her names as per their amenity. She on the other hand, gathered all of it and tried to do her best with all her vulnerabilities.

I can tell you she wasn't just a normal girl. Yeah yeah she loved to read books, eat cakes n chocolates, dance in bathroom laughing on her own which makes her quite normal. But she wasn't really that of normal. Big fuzzy hair, dark skin, no idea of what she was wearing and why, don't know how to talk to others were some of her attributes. Living like a wallflower wasn't that much of easy. Clearly, she felt she is not the most beautiful girl in the room everyone can die for. But she knew somehow that there is something about her so much more attractive and that was her inquisitiveness, her maturity, and that shrewdness oh my God even I can die for! All her life she listened to others, tried to be the part of the crowd when she was not. Everyone had an "opinion" about her life. About how she looks, how she behaves, how she talks and weirdly about how her hair which never made sense to her at all. She tried, really! Tried as hard as she can to look "good" as they demand. But one day she got bored. So she tried intelligence, flawed and happy.

God I just couldn't express that made her look like an angel. Screw beautiful, now she is ambitious, clever, witty, interesting, adventures, crazy and most importantly kind. All her life she was missing this whole fun and she had no idea about it. Now she embrace all her names different people with different flaws gave to her. Now she tells proudly to everyone that she is proud of the warrior she have made from the ashes that were meant to bury her. She is wounded but strong, fierce and fearless above all. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most beautiful thing one could ever embrace.

Sounds familiar, huh? Listen to me girls, why don't we just try to be ourselves, to really embrace who we are at the core.. If you are skinny fair enough, not skinny? Even better. If you're fair, dark, tall, short, nerdy, absurd, crazy, bad, good what so ever etc etc... Doesn't matter. The names will never end. So just screw the names and be who you want to be. Love and respect yourself so that everyone else will. Let's strive to live our lives to the fullest.

Promise me today, tomorrow will be better

You will be more than just a love letter!

This article appeared first on International Youth Journal