Becoming Cinnamon

ISIS PITT

It’s normal to feel insecure throughout life. It becomes unhealthy when those feelings fester inside and influence your actions. Generation F is empowered to not let their insecurities define them.

If I am to be honest

I am made of dishonesty,

as everything I am

everything I say

is to be taken with

a pinch of salt and a spoonful of sugar.

Salt.

I’ve made a habit of

presenting myself in a negative light

before someone gets the chance to;

before I can feel the

harsh glare of scrutiny.

I am a firm believer that

only I am allowed

to ruin myself.

I’ve made a habit of

exaggerating what I believe;

makes me unfavorable,

minimizes the qualities

I love about myself.

Sugar.

I learn to sweeten

the sound of my voice

for strangers

in the hopes of

fitting into the stereotype

of what it means to be a woman,

how to shed my skin

in favor of another’s.

I find comfort

in becoming what

makes others happy.

I live for them

instead of myself.

Cinnamon.

but I’ve grown tired of the voice

that never seems to be satisfied

with the changes I make

to who I am

who makes me question

if I ever knew her in the first place.

The period of

hating myself

will not be the death of me,

it will merely be used as an example

of all the wrong ways

to treat a mind and body.

I am learning to accept

the girl whose reflection

stands before me in the mirror,

how to be patient with her thoughts,

feel at ease with her mannerisms.

She is whole on her own.

She does not need fine-tuning or tinkering

in the hopes of impressing strangers.