Seen

by Olivia Powers

They think I don’t notice the eye rolls and the whispered jokes and the way they call me “Barbie” like it’s an insult. I wish someone told me being pretty meant people would assume I’m dumb and shallow and mean. My teachers expect less, girls avoid me, and guys think I owe them something just for noticing me. I work twice as hard to prove I’m more than my face and still I get left out. The truth is, beauty doesn’t feel like power when it builds a wall between you and the world. I’m not asking for pity, I just want to be seen in the way it feels good to be seen.

6S

Olivia Powers is a high school junior who writes between study sessions and theater rehearsals.