They Called Me the “Ugly High School Graduate” in Front of Everyone — and My Family Expected Me to Smile and Accept It

papers on buses, sleeping less than any human should and more than I admitted to anyone because I understood that exhaustion, like acne, was something people interpreted as evidence of inadequacy rather than effort.

The acne cleared. The braces came off. I replaced the glasses with contacts. My body changed with exercise—not because I was trying to continue reading …