I'm not trying to make myself look like a girl because I'm not a girl anymore. I'm very happy about being a grown woman.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I couldn't wait to be an adult woman, and I'm glad I felt that way as a kid because, when I grew up, I realised I live in a world where the female form is really disrespected, and society is often trying to wrestle the female form into a shape that looks more like a young boy.
My appearance has changed a lot over the years, but it has far more to do with how I feel about being a woman.
Being a grown-up woman doesn't mean you can't look beautiful, individual and different.
I'm learning to accept everything that I am. I've accepted that I'm not going to be a stick-thin-model kind of girl. When I was 14, I was tall and spindly. By the time I turned 18, I had become a woman, and my body's not going to go back to what it looked like when I was 14.
It took me a long time to realise that I was a girl as a teenager. At that point I never really believed it. I looked like a boy for a long time. Now, finally, I feel like a woman.
I was like most teenagers. I wanted to look more conventional - you know, to just be the pretty girl in school.
Growing up, I wish I hadn't tried so hard to fit in. I'd tell myself to just embrace what you were born with because it's beautiful and you were made like that for a reason. It's tough being a girl. I think we need all of the support we can get.
Some people still see me as a kid, but I'm a 23-year-old woman now.
I'm not a girl anymore.
It's not like I cleaned up with girls. I always looked young and I was very small; I hated being 'cute.'