EMontWrites

For so long my smile has been my insecurity.

It’s not straight, it’s not perfect. I had a guy tell me he’d be with me if it was straight and perfect. You know when you’re breaking up and you yell all the bad things you’ve been holding on to.

I wore braces from 8th grade to 11th grade. Granted, I stopped going to the dentist about 10th grade so the last year the braces were just on my teeth, chillin.

The wire on my top teeth eventually popped off onto my lunch tray at school, from then, I just had useless cubes of metal on those teeth blocking me from eating corn on the cob.

When I finally got them off, my smile was revealed.

I remember how slick my teeth felt when I rubbed my tongue against them. They were shiny and new.

But still crooked.

But, not AS crooked as they were before, so I was happy at the time.

It wasn’t until years later when I wanted to start filming more on camera interviews at work that I noticed my smile was, off.

I’ve always heard from other people: “You have a beautiful smile” but I started to feel the opposite.

Which is weird because I’m literally ALWAYS smiling. Like…ALWAYS. I can’t help it. I’m generally a happy person (though I’m learning to not be so nice…another blog about that).

A few years ago I noticed that Michelle Obama’s smile wasn’t perfect either. I didn’t think too hard about it, but this woman was always in front of the camera, always smiling, always giving a speech.

It didn’t hit me until I saw her on the Grammy Awards the other day…

She, is me!

She’s always smiling, she’s in front of the camera, she’s out here giving speeches, living her best life and her smile isn’t perfect.

Which means, I can do the same thing. Why should I feel insecure about my teeth. It didn’t stop her from doing anything. So why should I let it stop me?

I made a down payment on my braces the next day.

Because I can. I can make the decision to pick up where I left off years ago and straighten my smile. It’s a journey but it’s something I have control over, so I’m going to do it!

Even with these braces my smile won’t be perfect.

But from now on I won’t feel insecure about them. I will still make videos, give speeches, inspire others and live my best life.

Me and my crooked teeth will be perfect,

For me.