As kids, we often view growing up as growing older, having more freedom, and, for me– getting boobs. As a little girl, I found myself fascinated and enticed with the idea of becoming a teenager with cool teenager stuff like driving and wearing makeup, but to me, the symbol of maturity and beauty in a woman was breasts. In middle school, I was bullied for my small chest and began to feel as though I didn’t meet an unspoken set of requirements to be a woman. Comments from peers asking why I even bothered to wear a bra in the gym locker rooms started infiltrating my thoughts. Criticisms of my waist and hips found their way under my skin until I looked at my reflection and no longer saw a 12 year old girl but instead just a boxy boyish figure. With many degrading remarks dragging me down, I embraced this vision others forced upon me dressing in baggy clothes to hide my curveless physique. After years of rejection of both my body and my clothes, I decided to take a different approach towards reaching acceptance among my peers. I tried to become a woman. In order to achieve the glorified hourglass body, I began working out every night in hopes that my waist would be just a little smaller the next morning. I changed my clothes to show off the bras I stuffed to compensate for my small chest. I tried doing my hair and putting on makeup but, at the end of the day, the girls saw through my facade and pointed out every flaw I had. Despite my efforts to fit in with other girls, I was still routinely ostracized. The constant degradation and fictitious mask led me further down the path of self hatred. In the beginning of high school, I turned to self harm as a way to cope with my emotional pain. The loneliness I felt from the lack of social acceptance pushed me to isolate myself, which was further magnified by COVID, keeping me from the safety net of my true friends and leaving me alone with my thoughts. Barely making it through bouts of self harm and insomnia, my academics were affected until I was nearly failing all my classes. A truly sincere remark of wisdom from one of my friends, “You have to want to help yourself, before we can help you,” and I knew I needed to change. Through deep contemplation, I recognized that my refusal to accept help stemmed from my belief that I deserved the pain. Through therapy and self reflection, I began to steadily improve and managed to work past my struggles. With college ahead, I have regained my focus on school, and hope to spread awareness and lead others like me to be confident in their bodies. With this growth of maturity and wisdom in my life, I’ve learned that self acceptance provides greater fulfillment than attempting to conform to society’s ideals. Applying what I have learned, I’ve built a more accepting community of supportive friends. In being a leader, I’ve helped others to recognize their insecurities and develop their sense of self by applying my experiences and giving them advice that helped me improve my own mental health. I recognize there is more wisdom for me to gain and I hope the future leader I become can inspire self love and acceptance in the future generations to come.