From an early age I remember wanting to be 16, and how good teens looked on TV.
I dreamt of frilly dresses and parties full of people; I dreamt of my self all grown up.
I remember Mary Kate and Ashley thin with boys on both arms.
Teenage life; I thought that's what it would be...
By the age of 12 I remember realizing people were quite mean, so I held onto 16.
The girls all liked boys, and I still found them icky.
I felt like an alien and the other girls spoke it.
Desperate to be normal, I couldn't wait to be 16.
By the age of 13 the girls wore makeup, and wearing none became ugly.
I found I was too large to fill the dresses I had seen on tv, and girls spoke of calories.
I learned to hate my skin, makeup became security, and food a sin to me...
When I looked in the mirror I started to see ugly, and again I could wait to be 16.
By the age of 14 other girls were thin, and pretty, and I had learned to hate me.
My peers spent nights at parties, while I sat at home alone and uninvited.
Everyone had dates and I felt so lonely, but boys somehow were still so icky.
They called me a freak and I realized even I didn't understand me; I still held onto 16
By the age of 15 I knew for certain that I liked girls, and I felt like everyone hated me.
I came to terms with being different, but I still wanted to be that image of thin I had seen.
Boys called me fat and I felt so ugly; I really wanted to die.
Teenage life wasn't what I imagined, and I no longer knew if I would make it to 16.
I am now 16 and my whole life has changed, because they finally broke me.
I am obsessed with weight, and I hate eating.
They took my chances for joy and destroyed me.
I am now 16 and because of them I can't help but hate me...
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem