Through my own lens.

How would you describe yourself to someone?

How would I describe myself to someone? Physically, I look like a typical person you might see walking down the street — brown eyes and dark curls that are in a perpetual state of disarray. Slightly tanned skin that doesn’t burn easily but is still slathered in sunscreen. Lines on my forehead that deepen when I raise my eyebrows. I wear dark glasses that read as librarian or punk, depending on the look in my eyes. I think my face is a bit weathered but some people find it pretty — and honestly, so do I.

I often look thoughtful or angry — my resting expression sits somewhere between pensive and worried. People often wonder if I’m upset. Spoiler alert — I’m not — I’m just observing. I’ve always been a better listener than a talker and I try to be careful when I do speak because even in silence I can be misunderstood. But that’s not about me, really, everyone has their own lens through which they interpret the world.

The lines will deepen and the world will continue to see me as it does, but as I age I’m learning to be kinder to myself — to hold my own trauma, broken edges, quirks, and quiet with care.

So that’s who I am, I guess. That’s how I would describe myself.