On becoming a butterfly

Fractured in so many places, only a miracle could make me whole. I was nothing. Nothing but a girl who had no real value, not even sexual appeal. That's what one of the men said, he said he was only doing me a favor, that no sane man would want a broken thing, that nobody invested time or emotion in something that couldn't be salvaged. He paused for a moment and looked straight into my eyes and then he said some words I'll never forget.

" You know, I have a daughter who is about your age, I am working hard to make sure that she isn't like you."

His words marked me in ways I cannot attempt to explain. Before that, several people had said and done a lot to hurt/insult me, but none broke me as much as He did.

That's the thing about being a caterpillar, nobody sees your potential or thinks any beauty can come out of you. Sometimes, it's due to no fault of yours, it's because some people are blinded by the things they see right now, they have no patience to wait and find out what's beneath an exterior or facade.

It's because people want to identify with a success story without identifying with the struggles that you went through to get there. They want mornings without nights and rainbows without rain. Unfortunately, the process isn't always easy or desirable for that matter. So if people say bad things to you, judge you or do not identify with your struggles, dear caterpillar, do not lose heart, you will become a butterfly one day.

I'm doing so much better now. I'm definitely stronger and even though I'm not yet where I want to be, I am well on my way there. Say yaaaaaaaaaaay for progress! And if I, the girl who was called useless and undesirable could break stereotypes and do something positive with my life, I'm telling you, you can shatter glass ceilings.

Go on, dear caterpillar, become a beautiful butterfly.

Article by I Don't Hide My Scars

I’m a Nigerian girl in her twenties, I blog anonymously at www.idonthidemyscars.com . I love food, ice-cream, the colour purple, cartoons and inspiring people on my instagram page www.instagram.com/idonthidemyscars.

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