I always wore makeup. I started dabbling in the art in middle school and for the first three years of high school, I wore makeup on most, if not all days. As always, senior year was a mess and I was busy. I took 5 AP classes (and I was at school at 7 every morning), ran cross country, and worked 20 hours a week. I had a full schedule that did not usually include putting on the little makeup that I, and everyone I knew, had gotten used to. I didn’t even wear that much. Usually it was just eyeliner and little mascara, but that was enough to make me feel like a very different person when I didn’t wear it.

When I first paused and realized that I had stopped my usual makeup routine, I was super uncomfortable. Every day, I would wake up and make the decision that I wasn't going to spend time with makeup, but by the end of the day, I would regret it. I’d take a photo with one of my friends and cringe at the bland face that looked back at me, or someone would comment and say I looked a lot like Karin, my twin who doesn't wear makeup, or sometimes, I would even get the occasional “Wow, you look really tired today.” I didn’t like people commenting and I always felt like they were drawn aback by my plain face without makeup. But the next day, the cycle would start over and at 6 am, I wasn't about to spend the 8 minutes it took me to apply my eyeliner.

However, I was surrounded by people I was relaxed with. I had gone to school with the same people for at least 4 years, if not 6, if not even 12 years. By senior year, they had assuredly seen me at my worst. It took a while, and many half attempts at restarting my makeup routine, but at some point, I realized that I was finally comfortable with myself, even when I wasn’t wearing makeup. I could go weeks without wearing makeup and I was happy with the photos I took with my friends, and the people around me stopped associating my no-makeup-face with Karin’s face. It was normal for Lisa to wear makeup, but then again, it was just as normal for Lisa not to wear makeup.

Now, 3 months into being in college, I am so incredibly happy that I am completely content with my no-makeup-face. Not wearing makeup in college is decidedly and completely amazing. I am more comfortable in my own skin and my own face, with or without makeup. I don’t care about my blonde, invisible eyelashes or the massive, red, angry pimples on my face. Because I stopped wearing makeup my senior year of high school, I don’t have to torture myself every morning trying to make my face functional enough to appeal to the strangers that I now meet every day. I know that I can be perfectly acceptable if I bring my no-makeup-face to class. I am content with how I look either way and I am more confident and happy because of it.