Lile 1

Emily Lile
Ms. Gardner
English 10H/Period 4
20 January 2016
Thats What Makes Me Beautiful
From the moment you first entered this world, your body has been protected by its
biggest organ; skin my aunt said.
I looked at my hands, my arms, and my legs stretched across the couch in our dimly lit
living room. I was nine at the time, and it confused me when my aunt told me this. How does
skin protect my body when its so easily damaged by my childish play?
Skin, though it holds us together, and keeps the blood of humans and the golden ichor of
gods intact, is fragile. Sure, sometimes you can get minor cuts and bruises, but theres more to it
than just miniscule injuries. I know my skin is strong, unlike anyone Ive every laid eyes on.
How else could it hold my strongest memories? Every scar has a story and every bruise has a
reason to be a part of my skin.
About a year later after my memorable conversation with my aunt I was practicing my
Double Loop at Snoopys Home Ice.Rounding the corner by the coffee shop, I looked at my
coach and smiled knowing that this jump was my most consistent, and setted up for the take-off
thinking that it would just be another ordinary Loop jump. The next thing I knew I was sitting
down on the crisp, glossy ice staring at an open cut, which must have been like a canyon for my
skin. Blood was rushing from my leg and I realized that I had impaled the strongest armour on
my body. Now everyday I see a scar running across my sensitive skin. Over the years I have

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acquired more scars from more failed jump passes, and each and every one of them contains a
story that I am reminded of. My skin carries my history.
Before my years as a teen, as an infant, as a newborn babe, skin told people where their
placement was in society. Unfortunately I see that some of it is still present in todays society.
The name for it is racism. I learned about this major issue back in fourth grade. Sitting
attentively I remember Ms. Johnson speaking with passion of how ones skin color, defined who
they were, what their race was, what kind of job they had, and where they stood in society
compared to others. Although ones skin color characterizes their race, I learned that it does not
mean you judge them differently.
All across Casa Grandes high school campus, I hear, Yo what ya doing here at this
school? Yo black.
Even though friends may be joking with friends, I feel pain burning into my protective
barrier like an unwanted permanent tattoo. I see those thick-skinned people suddenly
unprotected, crying and shouting with makeup pouring down their face while crouching in a
cradle position on the girls bathroom floor, not caring whether it was sparkling clean or covered
in dirt.
I hate them! Why would they say that to me? I never wanted to be black! I wanted
something else!
I wondered the same thing. Why would someone they loved or cared about state
something so harmful when they are equals? Then again, you should love yourself for who you
are. I wouldnt want to change my skin color just so another would stop torturing me because of
it. I would be proud of my skin, because it contains all of the ancestry and DNA of the person I
want to be for all eternity.

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Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States (Acne). As Ive grown
older, I continually see billboards hovering above the freeway trying to sell an acne removal
product. I admit that sometimes I feel self-concious of my appearance, but after all is said and
done, I know that I cant change my body. Ive met many people over the course of my life who
try to cover up theyre beautiful and natural skin with makeup, but I dont think they understand
that when they take these actions, they are hiding their true self. People assume the friends who
surround them wont love them if their appearance is destroyed by a bit of acne. Do you
remember Narcissus from the Greek Mythology your freshmen honors English teacher taught
you about? He killed himself by worrying so much about his appearance in a lake. Skin is the
organ in which all of our emotions are tightly wound together to form a barricade so strong that it
is almost impenetrable.
Surgery, more specifically liposuction surgery, is the procedure in which human fat and
skin is taken from a figure. I hear about it quite frequently and cringe at the thought of the
removal of ones self. Why would anybody want to erase so much of who they are? Fat is just
another part of your skin. I recall during my early teenage years, my mother repeatedly
convincing me that I was overweight and hideous. I would weep and sob thinking that she was
right, that my skin was always swaying like a madman. I would want to skip breakfast or lunch
or dinner. Finally, I recognized why my skin was being this way, why my mother told me I was
too fat for any activities. I had forced fat to stretch my boundaries to shape my body the way it
appeared, and I could never forget that.
Scars are scars, bruises are bruises, color is color, acne is acne, and fat is fat, but most
importantly, skin is skin. There are no excuses for bending the rules, I couldnt change my
appearance, and neither can you. Sometimes when I penetrate my skin and it starts to bleed I

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think, theres another story I can tell my grandchildren in many years to come, of how I goofed
around and cut myself with a pair of scissors while working nonstop on another stressful English
project about the Italian renaissance. I look at my skin now, and think, Im so happy to have this
layer here to protect me, from burns, and undesirable actions. I am glad to have my skin be my
skin. From the moment I entered this world, my body has been protected by my biggest organ;
my skin.

Lile 5

Works Cited
"Acne." American Academy of Dermatology. American Academy of Dermatology, 2015. Web.
21
Jan. 2016.