We all know the type, that one person in high school who was just average. They were kind of quiet, had some friends but mainly kept to themselves, did average things, did not really stick out in the crowd, and most of all, were average-looking and was just another face in the crowd. I was that person. It never bothered me that I never was a part of the "in-crowd" in high school, I had my friends and what else did a girl need?

Anyways, just like any story, we must start at the beginning. Let's backtrack all the way to Circa 2000 till about 2007, elementary school days. Socially, I was completely fine. I had numerous friends and everything was great. However, there was a catch, I had huge bucked teeth; to make matters even worse I had space in between my front teeth so large it could easily put SpongeBob Squarepants to shame and I stayed like that till I was a freshman in high school. It never bothered me till I got to junior high school.

Junior high was a whole new game to me. That's when everything changes. I had less and fewer friends and I was okay with that because I knew who my true friends were at the time. Other than that everything was the same as it had been but there was now a twist and it was a twist that I had never experienced before, and that was bullying.

I got bullied every day it seemed always for my teeth. I was called a Beaver on a daily basis and this continued even after I had gotten braces. I eventually began begging my mom and dad to please get my teeth fixed so people could no longer have a reason to pick on me and I could go back to being another face in the crowd of my 300 plus class. Turns out I would need more than just braces — my overbite was so bad that I needed to get my jaw broken and moved forward to correct it. But the catch was we could not start any of the processes till I had stopped growing completely.

When I finally got to high school it was time for the braces to go on and the process of making my smile beautiful begin. Once my braces came on, my gap between my teeth closed rather quickly and the bullying had stopped — things were beginning to look up for me. I had even gotten my first boyfriend and he was older than me — this was a total score in mine and my friends books at the time. Time continues to go on.

It is now December 2011 the time had come to get my jaw surgery. The surgery seemed like it took forever to get to, this was going to alter my face and make me normal and make me pretty. That is all I wanted, to be pretty. I wanted to be like the pretty girls I saw at the mall or just around town when I was younger. I was more than ready for this day. The surgery was a huge success, I got what I wanted and more.

So the next step was to get my braces off and I would be home free right? After two-and-a-half years of braces and jaw surgery, I was finally happy with myself. I had a beautiful smile and no one could no longer pick on me, all was well.

In my later years of high school, I still had trouble fitting in — I just was not into drinking and smoking and all the other things my peers were doing around me. So I became the nerdy quiet type and I was okay with that. No one truly noticed me in my now 600 plus class and that was all fine with me because I was finally under the bullying radar. I was now a full-fledged "normal' teenage girl who was good at school, had a few good friends and was comfortable with her life and that was exactly what I wanted.

I went to graduate high school then I got accepted at John Carroll and everything changed for me once again. I knew practically no one, I could finally start fresh. No one would know that I was once a chubby bucked tooth nerdy girl that I once was. I finally stood a chance. I could finally be myself and not conform to a certain mold just to avoid being bullied. Back in my hometown, everyone grew up together and knows each other in some way-- it has its ups and downs. The major downside is that everyone knows each other from day one so we all know each others flaws, and stereotypes.

I began to blossom. I began to really be myself; I figured out who I truly was. I then joined a sorority and many on campus clubs and I met so many nice people and had great friends. I began to gain something I never had, confidence.

Having confidence is what makes me who I am today, it makes me funny, smart and successful — it also makes me beautiful. Being confident in yourself and knowing it is the most wonderful thing that could happen to a person.

I go home now and see boys who I grew up with my whole life, these were the boys who teased me and sent me home in tears. Now they tell me how pretty I am. They ask what happened to me, how did I become so good looking and why did they not ever give me a chance back in high school? All I can do in these situations is thank them, smile and walk away. As Marilyn Monroe once said, "If you cannot handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell cannot handle me at my best."

I am at my best right now, I am at a great school, I have the most amazing and supportive family and friends. I am studying what I love, I am involved in what I like either it be clubs or even my job, I am happy doing what I am doing. I am finally happy.

I was silly to think that just fixing my looks would fix everything for me. However, fixing them did make me happy do not get me wrong but, it made me realize that looks are not the key to happiness...confidence is. It just took me a little longer to realize that.

In the end, every single person is beautiful despite if you are an early bloomer, or a late bloomer or somewhere in between. It is all about being comfortable in your own skin and once you become comfortable you become confident; then you see what beauty truly is. I know many people can relate to this crazy idea of being a late bloomer and I hope that one day they realize what I have come to.