In short, scars. Scars, scars, scars. I used to hate them! I thought they were ugly and embarrassing and disgusting. And maybe they are! Maybe you think they're awful, and why on earth would someone take pictures of them and put them on the internet??
Because they're part of me, I guess. They represent an awful thing I went through... and survived. Though not the direct result of depression and bipolar disorder, they came from medicines designed to help me through it. Lithium gave me horrible cystic acne, that here, years later, I still have the evidence of.
Like I said, I used to hate them. But just recently I realized I don't anymore. In fact, I kind of like them. Just one more unique thing about me that tells a silent story.
And I have plenty of company!
I actually remember years and years ago reading in some of my favorite books about characters with facial scars, and I remember thinking if I ever had one, I'd be proud. I'd wear it with honor! Because those characters' scars happened for big, important reasons and helped make them the strong people they were.
Here are some of my peers :)
Dustfinger is a character in the "Inkheart" trilogy. He is a fire-eater and his best friend is his pet, a marten named Gwin. His facial scars are three cuts, sliced into his face by a bitter and jealous rival. The premise behind the "Inkheart" series is that certain people are actually able to read things in and out of books. It's an absolutely awesome idea... I think any avid reader would agree that good books really can transport you to other worlds, and in the best books, even after you finish reading them, the characters stay with you. Dustfinger was accidentally read out of his world into ours and desperately wants to return to his home. In a less literal sense, who doesn't feel that way sometimes?
Tyrion Lannister. Three words for you: GAME OF THRONES! My latest obsession. I think one of my favorite things about the series is that, with the exception of maybe Joffrey, there is not one character that is entirely good or entirely bad, which I feel is very realistic. Tyrion, though small in stature, is incredibly smart and incredibly brave. He received his scar in the Battle of the Blackwater, his face sliced by an ally-turned-foe.
The Joker, from "The Dark Knight" is probably one of my favorite characters ever. Heath Ledger's portrayal of him was absolutely genius. No one knows the true origins of his scars! He gives several different explanations during the film, so it could be any of them, or none. I love that he accentuates them instead of hiding them.
Harry Potter, The Boy who Lived! His lightning-bolt scar is legendary. His scar is the result of a life-altering trauma- a horrible event in which he lost his parents, but simultaneously proved to the world how strong he was, how strong love is.
If you ask me, scars should be celebrated, not hidden! Whether it's a scar on your knee from the first time you rode (and fell off!) a bicycle, or a face full of laugh lines, you should love them! They tell a lifetime of joys and sorrows, tell you how far you've come, and how far you'll go.
Sarah
You are beautiful.
ReplyDelete