If you look at me, you may see a 4’11” brown eyed girl. You may see a girl who is always smiling and who is nice to others. You may see someone who has the biggest heart and who spreads kindness like confetti. But the truth is there is much more to me than that.

Deep down I am suffering but from the outside you can’t see that. You can’t see the demons I am facing behind the smile I wear. I am constantly at a battle with myself to put on a show for others. To show others I am happy and ‘normal’ but I’m not.

When I am having a bad day I get asked “Did you do your hair different” or “Why aren’t you wearing makeup?”. Not a “What’s wrong” or “Is everything okay?”. I feel as if I face these struggles on my own. I know I have people who love me but they can not even begin to understand how I feel. But that doesn’t stop me from continuing on with my life. It doesn’t stop me from being “me”.

You see, I am the kind of person who puts others first. I am the kind of person who feeds off of others happiness, because making them happy makes me happy. I am the person who won’t give up. I will do everything and anything to make others happy and that is why I am me.

No matter the struggles I face or the difficult times I go through, I will not stop. I refuse to let my struggles get the best of me. I refuse to let my struggles become “me”. If there is one thing I have learned through all of the challenges I have faced, it is that I am a fighter.

The struggles I have gone through have allowed me to become the person I am. I am the kind of person who appreciates the struggles I have gone through because they have taught me so much. I have learned valuable life lessons such as who my real friends are and what love really is.

I have learned not to be ashamed of myself and where I come from. I may have a complicated past, but without those experiences I would be nothing. I wouldn’t have learned how to love, how to fight my demons, and how to be strong. Without struggles we learn nothing. Our struggles make us who we are.

There is more to me than what you see. Looking at me you may notice my physical features and maybe a smile. You may notice that I have a sense of fashion or love certain things. But underneath all of the materialistic items is a girl who has a lot going for her. It is a girl who refuses to give up and will strive for success. It is a girl who is not afraid to fight the difficult times she may go through because she knows everything happens for a reason and all of those reasons make her the fighter she is.