Beautiful Or Ugly

Beautiful or Ugly

(Whisper) please don’t look at me.

When I was 8 they said I looked strange
I noticed my eyes and nose weren’t the same
I looked at myself and frowned
My face wasn’t meant to be so round
So I asked my mummy if I was okay
She looked into my ‘almond eyes’ just like daddy used to say
Smiled and said ‘I look more beautiful each day,
They wish that they had your smile
And that’s how they showed it
By saying to you their bit’
Then I got confidence in myself for a while
With who I am, how I looked and with my own style

God made you and me the same way
You should only get judged by what you do
Don’t listen to what they say
You are true, when you just be you
The sun isn’t going to always shine
They’re words aren’t going to let you down
Even through the bad times
Don’t let yourself drown
And if I’m ugly
Look at yourself and say those words quietly
So are you...

When I turned 13 I started to care
On how tall I was and how much I weighed
They made it feel like life was unfair
I looked at others and it made me afraid
I didn’t know my body would so quickly change
Sat in class I would hide my face
It made things look so strange
I wished that I could just be replaced
The media hit us all like what you looked like was the real frame
I would see girl’s faces almost like plastic dolls
Guys would go for the beautiful, well isn’t that their real aim?

God made you and me the same way
Don’t listen to what they say
You should only get judged by what you do
You are beautiful in every way
And you are true, when you just be you
The sun isn’t going to always shine
They’re words aren’t going to let you down
Even through the bad times
Don’t let yourself drown
And if I’m ugly
Look at yourself and say those words quietly
So are you...

When I turned 17 I wasn’t too bothered
I grew taller than them in better ways
I realised that personality was the real game
It wasn’t about what I looked like
It was all about what was under your name
Me and my friends we looked alike
There were times when people talked bad about others
This one mostly goes out to those sisters
Hold in the emptiness pain and don’t feel ashamed
Y’all are beautiful, that is something that I have claimed
Don’t let them tell you that ‘you ain’t beautiful’
Keep your head held high
Just look into their eyes and say
‘Either are you!’

(Whisper) please don’t look at me.

By Neelam Ahmed