Scars
By Kinah Britton
Acne is not permanent; it will go away eventually. But there are also scars that can’t go away— they stay with you forever. In my piece, I decided to elaborate on this concept by explaining that not all scars can disappear, but we have the opportunity to embrace them, love ourselves for who we are as human beings, and not let society dictate our beauty.
Scars from acne seem
like double punishment
as
reminder
Acne
on the skin
can be frustrating
Some people find acne
scars an unwanted reminder
However scars
do not have to be permanent
can get
rid of them
When I look in the mirror, all I see are scars. ACNE SCARS. Sometimes I think to myself, “Do I look pretty? Why can’t I just have clear skin?”
I ask these questions and many more all the time. But the answer is always the same: “Do a morning and night routine, wash your face every day, and you’ll see the difference.”
The thing is, there is no difference. All of the products that I use don’t even work. I do what they tell me all the time and nothing seems to work.
Sometimes I feel insecure about my facial appearance, especially when I go to school. One of the kids said that I look older than my age. WAY older. I didn’t like the way that sounded. It made me feel ugly inside, like my face would never be the way it was before my scars.
But then I realized that my acne scars are not permanent. I’m going to love and embrace my face. And to all the girls who struggle with acne or any scar that makes you feel less than beautiful, don’t let society dictate whether you’re beautiful. We are ALL beautiful, just the way God made us.
Process
Creating this project has been a real journey for me. My idea for the poem and multimedia piece came from the experience of having acne scars and how I dealt with the situation. I used some articles from the internet about acne as the starting material for my multimedia piece, and I made an erasure poem that is similar to my Print Anthology piece.
Meet the Pair
MENTEE KINAH BRITTON & MENTOR CASEY CORNELIUS
Kinah’s Anecdote: My relationship with my Girls Write Now mentor is PERFECT! We always meet at 3:45 p.m. at the latest and sometimes she helps me with my homework, and then we both work on our Girls Write Now projects. I absolutely love hanging out with her. She makes me feel comfortable, safe, and happy. Even though I have known her for only a little while, I would like to say that she is the most AMAZING mentor I have ever had!
Casey’s Anecdote: Kinah is so talented! She is a singer and an actor and I am so proud of how hard she works at her art. She is also a thoughtful and insightful writer and I love seeing her develop her own voice and confidence on the page. I always look forward to our meetings and especially her big, generous hugs.
Kinah Britton
Kinah Britton is a student and a working actor in New York City. She dreams of someday becoming an actor casted in a featured film and to someday become a screenwriter for major film/TV production company.
