Living in the Present with Your Imperfect Self
In the past, women's scars were seen as disfiguring and always regarded as imperfect. Now, scars have different meanings for women; some even think they have 'no value at all'.
Lu Lu, who has been working in public relations for many years, is not proficient at swimming but loves the sun and the beach, especially water activities. She is keen to try new things and develops different hobbies in her spare time, including learning tango dancing, motorbikes, etc. She used to be an amateur model. However, upon closer inspection, her left shoulder has obvious scars, scattered on her shoulder like a map.
As for the origin of the scars, Lu Lu has no clue, and her relatives and friends did not explain much, so she guessed it was caused by accidental injuries when she was playing as a child. 'It might have been falling from a tree or scraping myself on a bike; I don't know.' She said with a smile. She said that the wound in her memory was not big, but when she was young, she often touched it with her hands, making it difficult to heal and expand. She also rarely took special care of it when she grew up, and often went to the mountains and the sea without any protection. She estimated that the ultraviolet rays made the scars bigger, 'They were as big as a five-dollar coin in middle school, and now they are as big as a palm'.
As for whether she regretted not taking care of the scars, making them larger, Lu Lu answered briskly: 'No!'. But every time she received an invitation for a modelling job, she would tell the other party in advance that her left shoulder had obvious scars so that they could decide whether to continue the cooperation. As a result, some did not give her audition details, and some deliberately avoided the scars when shooting. Would she be sad about this? 'No, this scar has no special meaning to me, but people have the right to choose', she answered quickly again.
When asked if the scars gave her any unforgettable experiences or feelings, she thought for a moment and said with a smile: 'It seems that there really isn't'. However, the scars gave her a lot of interesting experiences, such as when she was a child, because the scars were small, and she also had a small birthmark on her right side, her friends mistakenly thought she had a pair of birthmarks on her shoulders; when she became a model, many people around her felt sorry for her scars and suggested that she undergo laser scar removal, or tattooing and other methods to cover the scars so that she could 'look perfect'. To her friends' suggestions, Lu Lu usually smiled and said nothing, or politely expressed her gratitude. 'These are all well-intentioned suggestions because they love me, they want me to be "perfect" and "better"'. She reiterated that she had no special feelings about the scars on her shoulder. 'To me, this scar has no special value or meaning, and I don't mind my imperfection.'
Although the scars had no value to Lu Lu, she once asked about the treatment of laser scar removal by chance and heard the other party say that the scars after laser treatment could not be exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet rays for at least three months. She, who likes outdoor activities, refused on the spot, saying that it was too painful not to do outdoor activities for three months. As for whether she would 'walk with the scars' in the future, she said indifferently, 'I will not deliberately keep or remove them; I will not deal with them specially. If people think that this scar makes me imperfect, then let me enjoy life with this imperfect self.'
If I were to divide my body into two parts, the left side would belong to the "more normal" body visible to others, while the right side would be the "abnormal" body that scares people.
I am a restless individual who has enjoyed exploring and moving around since I first learned to walk. At just over a year old, having recently mastered walking, I took advantage of my family's distraction and walked into the kitchen alone to explore. The outcome was the accidental spill of freshly boiled water from the table, resulting in an unwelcome baptism of hot water. From that moment on, my skin and destiny took on a different course.
I have no impression of the injury process in my mind, mainly told by my family. However, the most impactful aspect of my growth has been the continual hospital visits for surgeries and follow-ups, as well as the experiences and emotions brought about by the scars on my body – both positive and negative, bitter and sweet – all of which have contributed to shaping the person I am today.
As time passes, the scars have remained with me, and I haven't made a deliberate effort to push them away. Together, we confront the various peaks and valleys of life. I no longer resist them; instead, I express gratitude for the distinct life they have bestowed upon me. My life is marked with uniqueness and beauty due to these scars. Even though they may be tears of both sorrow and joy, they are undeniably beautiful. My scars are beautiful.
There are many people around with obvious scars. We navigate through the crowds, presenting diverse images and evoking various emotions. People's gazes and reactions also give us different experiences. Therefore, I hope to use this platform to share the stories of different people’s scars, let everyone know more, and let more people understand that we all have scars of different sizes in our lives, some are obvious, and some are only seen by ourselves in our hearts. No matter where the scars are, I believe they have a certain meaning in everyone’s life, and they are beautiful.