When I was little, I was an awkward girl with tangly blonde hair that wore cowboy boots everyday to school, talked to animals in her free time, still held on to her baby fat, and rotated through the same five t-shirts every week. It wasn’t because I had a lack of them, but because I knew what she I and what I was comfortable in. One of those t-shirts was this blue graphic from Justice that had a hamster with the words “Super Hug” inscripted on it. It was hideous. But ten-year-old me adored it endlessly, because it was what I found myself comfortable in. It was childish, but pure and innocent.

As I was shuffling through my dresser today, I came across that darn t-shirt. As I was about to toss it in the trash, I stopped myself. I remembered that little girl and looked at myself now.

I miss that girl. Yes, boys avoided her and she definitely lacked friends, but she knew herself and knew nothing else. She was innocent, untainted, and was oblivious to the world around her. She didn’t worry about how others saw her.

I remembered her, looked at myself now, and tucked the t-shirt back in the dresser.

Photo Credits: Pinterest