Apr 13, 2009

She looks so happy in pictures. the little girl with the messy brown hair. Her mom tried to make it look pretty but it can't be tamed. In fact, people have been trying to tame certain aspects of her personality and her looks for years to no avail. She is incorrigible.

She has a twinkle in her eye like she's playing a game. A strange little smile. She knows something she isn't telling you. She finds something funny but she isn't letting you in on the joke. She is mischievous.

They say she is a trouble maker. She has no self control. She talks all the time and won't do her work. She is a disruption to the class. She is messy.She is disorganized. She doesn't turn her homework in. Her handwriting is sloppy. She is a smart child but she doesn't do what she is supposed to. She is bad.

Her parents are always yelling at her. She tries to do what is right but it isn't easy. She wants to make them proud of her. She wants to be good.Her sisters are good. She is disappointing.

She lies a lot. She lies to get attention. She lies to get out of trouble. She lies to make herself feel better. She is a liar.

She gets older and develops physically before all the other girls.Boys do bad things to her. They say things and touch her in ways that make her feel sick. She hates it but she likes the attention.She makes jokes so she doesn't cry. She makes them laugh too so they don't laugh at her.

People call her ugly. She doesn't understand why. They say she is fat. She doesn't know why her body is different from every one else's. She doesn't look like her sisters. They are skinny. People tell her that she should look like them. They say that her sisters are beautiful. They are beautiful.

They say that she is not beautiful. They say that she is not beautiful. They say that she is not. She is not beautiful.

7 comments:

Jessica said...

Merry--I hope you don't think I am your blog stalker, cause I am leaving so many comments, but I just wanted to say that there really are so many different kinds of beauty.

Your sister has one kind of beauty, sure, but just because you don't look just like her (let's be honest, you DO look like sisters!) does not mean that you are also not beautiful.

I am so glad that there are so many different kinds of flowers, trees, music, words, people, buildings, colors, feelings--and definitely beauty.

And you absolutely exemplify one kind.

Emily said...

Merry, this made me smile and cry, and I just want to say that your writing is really amazing, and your honesty is astonishing.
Having girls, and remembering what it's like to be a child, I worry all the time, worry that these two little people will be too different from one another, and be compared cruelly. I worry that they will be too much the same, and not be the confident individuals that I want them to be. I worry that they will grow up vain because I tell them all the time that they are beautiful, because I want them to know they are....

Nina said...

Oh Meredith...I think you have a story to share, something to say to girls...you're a good writer...have you ever thought about putting it all down on paper?

merry said...

Yes, I have thought about writing it down.I have a burning desire to write. I start and get always in and then erase it all. I think to myself,"You can't write. No one wants to read this shit." Then I erase it all. I have started fictional things as well. I always write a few pages and the demon of self loathing takes over again. Why don't I just write it and let others decided? Well, the same reason I never finish my songs. I am too afraid of the soul crushing rejection might bring. But what is this fear of rejection when I have been rejected a lot in life? What are a few more critics going to mean to me anyway?I guess not much. I'll do it, I'll rob the Quik-E Mart. Oh sorry, I watch too much of the Simpsons. I mean, I'll do it, I will my story. Now...how does one go about doing that?

Nina said...

Good for you, girl. I want you to do this. Is this not motivation enough? :) Seriously. I have a feeling about it. And remember, I was the one who had the flash of brilliance about you and Mike. So...perhaps my feeling about this is a trustworthy one?

And, just ask Mike...I know a writer and a story when I see one, and that's what I see here.

Don't delete it! Send it to me!

merry said...

But how should I start?

Jessica said...

Just start at the beginning. Open up your computer and start writing...you can organize and make sense of it later, maybe.

But just start writing!!!!!!!! This is exciting;-)