Project Nose Surgery

Ever since I was ten years old, my nose has given me heartache, from the kids in school to family members; my nose has been the center of their jokes. When I was 15, I was in the mall; some strange guy walked up to me and said, “Damn, your nose is big!” It hurt my feelings, but these comments happened all the time. I learned to grin and bear it, but deep down inside, I wanted to change my nose.  However, I could not afford the surgery nor did I want to deal with the backlash from my family. My family believes it’s a cardinal skin to change what God has made. I disagree. Throughout the years, I’ve learned to live with it, styling my hair in different ways, trying to minimize my nose with makeup, but four years ago, I developed an autoimmune disease, which resulted in hair loss and eye protrusion. Because of these physical side effects, my nose looks bigger than before.  I’m trying to embrace the new me, but it is hard. I don’t want to hide from the world anymore, I just want to be free from the emotional and physical pains my nose has caused me.  I feel my nose has held me back from many of my dreams.