Just when you think I can't possibly have any other major issues in my life, I assure you I can. When I was 3 years old, I was burned by coffee. The water had just been boiled and the cup sat on the kitchen table. In the one second my mom's head was turned, I climbed up and grabbed it. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns were the result.
Luckily, my burns are not on my face and can be hidden with clothing. When I was really young, the scars didn't bother me, but somewhere in middle school, kids started making comments and I started hiding.
For a very long time, no one ever saw me in short-sleeved shirts. When I was 21, I actually tattooed over a large portion of the scars. The portion covered, however, is not the portion someone could even see in short-sleeved shirts. I did it, mostly, so that I could feel comfortable in bathing suits.
This was not a decision supported by my family but they don't know what it's like to walk in this skin. Tattoos, to them, are scarring the body, but my body was already scarred. All I could hope to accomplish was to make my scars more attractive to the eye.
Now, I know there's going to be people out there who think I should just accept myself for who I am and all that jazz. I say that's great, absolutely, do that if you can. For me, this was my attempt to make lemonade out of lemons. The burns are still there, but I feel better about them and I don't see any harm in that approach. That same theory could easily be applied to plastic surgery. The hope is a person won't go overboard with it and change everything about themselves, but I don't think everything has to be so serious. If bigger breasts or a smaller nose makes you feel better, then it doesn't have to be the biggest deal in the world.
Now, again, a person should try and love themselves and shouldn't try and be something they're not, but some changes can be good. My tattoos do make me feel more confident and I feel good about the choice. If it's not for you, then I respect that. I will say, I don't know if it was the tattoos or just getting older, but I am not in hiding anymore.
In fact, whenever people from my past see pics of me today, they all remark on how strange it is to see me in short-sleeves. It's funny because I've come so far from that time in my life, that I didn't even remember I'd ever hidden my scars.
