I used to like you but now you wear
makeup and you’re ugly because of it
these were all comments that were made
to me due to my passion and love of
makeup and I’d be lying if I said those
judgments didn’t get me down in fact I’m
not alone the National Education
Association stated that over 160
thousand students for missing school
each day because they’re afraid of
getting judged an even higher number
twenty percent of teens have social
anxiety preventing them from expressing
themselves through their words or
abilities so you could probably tell by
now that I was judged for my love of
makeup despite being bullied for this
love and passion for makeup I’m still on
a journey of getting better but there
are many obstacles I had to face in
order to appreciate the artistry of
makeup my fascination began when I was
just seven years old I always watched my
mom to her make up and I was enchanted
with the artistic enhancements that she
made to her face in my attempts to
recreate those looks that my mom had so
beautifully worn I had forced my friends
to come over and have a playdate with me
and wear a smoky eye whenever they came
to my house and the funny thing is we
thought we looked awesome
I made the classic second-grader
mistakes of over lighting my lips too
much forgetting that I had to blend and
a whole lot of blush I don’t regret this
time though because it was a part of my
beginning process on how to become
better reaching middle school I had
started practicing my skills into
everyday life for the first time ever I
started wearing mascara at school I
remember walking through the doors of my
small private school on the first day of
eighth grade and I was feeling like a
boss considering I was finally old
enough to wear makeup I grace through
the hallways and I had successfully
spotted my clique I confidently made my
way to the group greeting everyone with
a hug
and as I ended my last hug they all
stared at me with blank faces I just
before I could ask them what was wrong
one of them had said you look different
are you wearing mascara like are you
insecure now
I honestly did not know how to react to
that abrupt of reaction all I could say
was of course not and asked them how
their summers were to try and lighten
the mood a couple of hours had passed
that day and I was in PE class another
one of these so-called friends came up
to me and said you know every guy that
had a crush on you last year thinks
you’re ugly now because you’re goth and
since everyone told me I was ugly I
started to believe it I can’t even tell
you the heaviness that weighed on me and
driving to school getting picked up
after a hard day would relieve some of
it but I would still feel it as I got
home as I wanted to allow my skill to
grow it was just a lot harder because
the judgments made it extremely
difficult
I would watch certain people thrive
through makeup like some social media
influencers on YouTube and I thought to
myself why are they thriving and not me
they practice in the same way I did yet
they would be praised for their passion
that’s when I decided to take a step
back and analyze my situation I thought
to myself okay I’ve been going to the
same school for my entire life it’s kept
me away from meeting new people and
gathering a better understanding of the
world around me maybe I just need to
change my circumstances to a more
diverse environment I proposed to my
parents that it’d be a good idea to
change schools I gathered all the
information I could about the schools
near me and by the grace of God I was
allowed to switch to a bigger and more
diverse school in June the turn I chose
taken my life allowed me to realize the
beauty of diversity and that no
judgement should be made towards people
simply because they’re different I can
honestly say that I’m proud that I
refuse to succumb to peer pressure by
deciding to keep wearing makeup it felt
like a declaration of I don’t really
care what you think I’m gonna be myself
some women including myself wear makeups
as a reminder of their strength and it
serves as a confidence booster and it
bothers me to no end when I see kind
independent woman being bullied by both
women and men
due to their attempts to express
themselves and as a victim of this I
feel that it’s important to recognize
that makeup is so much more than just a
product applied to your face
self-expression through makeup is not an
uncommon thing as well
it is seen in many cultures currently
and ones that have existed in the past
in ancient Egypt cosmetics were believed
to possess magical powers specifically
green paint applied to the eyes was
thought to summon the goddess of beauty
in most African tribes there is an
abundant use of face paint that gives
off symbols of hunting and unity in
today’s culture especially seen at
football events men wear makeup on their
faces to express toughness loyalty and
spirit they put on makeup on their faces
for a purpose all these examples I’ve
given you should be recognized the use
of this art is not solely for shallow
purposes and woman who loved makeup for
the art feel deeper connections to it
and some are bullied for expressing
themselves for it when a lack of
self-expression is done through things
like art people can start to question
who they truly are and why they matter
to the world around them in fact having
a creative outlet to cling to can often
assist people and mental disorders like
anxiety or depression according to the
American Journal of Public Health the
likeliness of obtaining a chronic
disease chronic diseases like heart
conditions diseases like depression and
even things like Alzheimer’s are greatly
increased when a person is under high
levels of stress and guess what the best
way to relieve that stress is creativity
art is something so necessary in order
to find your purpose and discover who
you truly are and if I could leave you
with one thing it would be this a world
with no one who steps outside the
limitations that people put on us
wouldn’t be a unique one by any means
everyone would just be sad robots
copying each other and ignoring their
god-given talents exploring who you
truly are as an individual through the
Arts and being innovative can allow you
to feel free of your hardships and
ultimately lead to self-discovery even
of those even those of us who do not
explicitly thrive in creative fields
have them needs to come up with new
ideas and insights originating from our
own minds in order to move ahead
unnecessary judgments of artistic
expression towards one another should
not be made and even if you do become a
victim of this please keep your head up
because one day those talons will
payoff if I listen to the ones that
called me ugly
and in their minds goth I wouldn’t be
speaking today each and every person has
a talent and it’s a beautiful thing to
express those talents and find who you
truly are in the midst of it okay I want
you to repeat after me I’m beautiful and
there’s still so much that this world
has to offer and whatever burning
passion our unique ability that you have
is there for a reason and practice your
individuality despite what people say I
practice mine now and despite any
comments made and I feel that it’s
important for the world to recognize
that makeup is not merely superficial
alterations to a face but it’s an
external reminder of who a woman is on
the inside thank you [Applause]
makeup and you’re ugly because of it
these were all comments that were made
to me due to my passion and love of
makeup and I’d be lying if I said those
judgments didn’t get me down in fact I’m
not alone the National Education
Association stated that over 160
thousand students for missing school
each day because they’re afraid of
getting judged an even higher number
twenty percent of teens have social
anxiety preventing them from expressing
themselves through their words or
abilities so you could probably tell by
now that I was judged for my love of
makeup despite being bullied for this
love and passion for makeup I’m still on
a journey of getting better but there
are many obstacles I had to face in
order to appreciate the artistry of
makeup my fascination began when I was
just seven years old I always watched my
mom to her make up and I was enchanted
with the artistic enhancements that she
made to her face in my attempts to
recreate those looks that my mom had so
beautifully worn I had forced my friends
to come over and have a playdate with me
and wear a smoky eye whenever they came
to my house and the funny thing is we
thought we looked awesome
I made the classic second-grader
mistakes of over lighting my lips too
much forgetting that I had to blend and
a whole lot of blush I don’t regret this
time though because it was a part of my
beginning process on how to become
better reaching middle school I had
started practicing my skills into
everyday life for the first time ever I
started wearing mascara at school I
remember walking through the doors of my
small private school on the first day of
eighth grade and I was feeling like a
boss considering I was finally old
enough to wear makeup I grace through
the hallways and I had successfully
spotted my clique I confidently made my
way to the group greeting everyone with
a hug
and as I ended my last hug they all
stared at me with blank faces I just
before I could ask them what was wrong
one of them had said you look different
are you wearing mascara like are you
insecure now
I honestly did not know how to react to
that abrupt of reaction all I could say
was of course not and asked them how
their summers were to try and lighten
the mood a couple of hours had passed
that day and I was in PE class another
one of these so-called friends came up
to me and said you know every guy that
had a crush on you last year thinks
you’re ugly now because you’re goth and
since everyone told me I was ugly I
started to believe it I can’t even tell
you the heaviness that weighed on me and
driving to school getting picked up
after a hard day would relieve some of
it but I would still feel it as I got
home as I wanted to allow my skill to
grow it was just a lot harder because
the judgments made it extremely
difficult
I would watch certain people thrive
through makeup like some social media
influencers on YouTube and I thought to
myself why are they thriving and not me
they practice in the same way I did yet
they would be praised for their passion
that’s when I decided to take a step
back and analyze my situation I thought
to myself okay I’ve been going to the
same school for my entire life it’s kept
me away from meeting new people and
gathering a better understanding of the
world around me maybe I just need to
change my circumstances to a more
diverse environment I proposed to my
parents that it’d be a good idea to
change schools I gathered all the
information I could about the schools
near me and by the grace of God I was
allowed to switch to a bigger and more
diverse school in June the turn I chose
taken my life allowed me to realize the
beauty of diversity and that no
judgement should be made towards people
simply because they’re different I can
honestly say that I’m proud that I
refuse to succumb to peer pressure by
deciding to keep wearing makeup it felt
like a declaration of I don’t really
care what you think I’m gonna be myself
some women including myself wear makeups
as a reminder of their strength and it
serves as a confidence booster and it
bothers me to no end when I see kind
independent woman being bullied by both
women and men
due to their attempts to express
themselves and as a victim of this I
feel that it’s important to recognize
that makeup is so much more than just a
product applied to your face
self-expression through makeup is not an
uncommon thing as well
it is seen in many cultures currently
and ones that have existed in the past
in ancient Egypt cosmetics were believed
to possess magical powers specifically
green paint applied to the eyes was
thought to summon the goddess of beauty
in most African tribes there is an
abundant use of face paint that gives
off symbols of hunting and unity in
today’s culture especially seen at
football events men wear makeup on their
faces to express toughness loyalty and
spirit they put on makeup on their faces
for a purpose all these examples I’ve
given you should be recognized the use
of this art is not solely for shallow
purposes and woman who loved makeup for
the art feel deeper connections to it
and some are bullied for expressing
themselves for it when a lack of
self-expression is done through things
like art people can start to question
who they truly are and why they matter
to the world around them in fact having
a creative outlet to cling to can often
assist people and mental disorders like
anxiety or depression according to the
American Journal of Public Health the
likeliness of obtaining a chronic
disease chronic diseases like heart
conditions diseases like depression and
even things like Alzheimer’s are greatly
increased when a person is under high
levels of stress and guess what the best
way to relieve that stress is creativity
art is something so necessary in order
to find your purpose and discover who
you truly are and if I could leave you
with one thing it would be this a world
with no one who steps outside the
limitations that people put on us
wouldn’t be a unique one by any means
everyone would just be sad robots
copying each other and ignoring their
god-given talents exploring who you
truly are as an individual through the
Arts and being innovative can allow you
to feel free of your hardships and
ultimately lead to self-discovery even
of those even those of us who do not
explicitly thrive in creative fields
have them needs to come up with new
ideas and insights originating from our
own minds in order to move ahead
unnecessary judgments of artistic
expression towards one another should
not be made and even if you do become a
victim of this please keep your head up
because one day those talons will
payoff if I listen to the ones that
called me ugly
and in their minds goth I wouldn’t be
speaking today each and every person has
a talent and it’s a beautiful thing to
express those talents and find who you
truly are in the midst of it okay I want
you to repeat after me I’m beautiful and
there’s still so much that this world
has to offer and whatever burning
passion our unique ability that you have
is there for a reason and practice your
individuality despite what people say I
practice mine now and despite any
comments made and I feel that it’s
important for the world to recognize
that makeup is not merely superficial
alterations to a face but it’s an
external reminder of who a woman is on
the inside thank you [Applause]
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