My Big Nose (Sydney Salter)
When I was fourteen years old, my dad's new girlfriend took me to a plastic surgeon, thinking that a nose job would make me beautiful. The surgeon said that I was too young. The next one did too. That was the moment that I found out that I had a big nose. Obviously I spent my high school years feeling insecure about my nose. I hated getting my photo taken. I thought that my big nose was the reason that my biggest crush didn't like me back. I yearned for a nose job. The nose job that I got when I turned eighteen added a bump to my nose. But I didn't look much different overall. No one seemed to notice that my nose had changed. But I felt different inside--a hard-earned lesson. My nose had never been the problem, my lack of confidence was the issue. I headed off to college with my big nose, its new bump, and the knowledge that confidence comes from within, not from superficial things like beauty. All of my adult life I have spent a lot of time reading, thinking and...
