She was slowly fading away
Deeper and deeper she fell
It was like she was a living mannequin
With no clothes on to attract
Friends drifted away
Maybe she was too weird, she thought
With a closet filled with boring sweatpants and hoodies
And no glittery shoes or stilettos.

Reminiscing on the good old days
Where she was all that mattered
She was made of brains
The star in everybody’s eyes
Everybody made her feel special
Until brains didn’t matter anymore
The dull headed cheerleaders with matching pink outfits were the stars
And she thought, maybe I should make a change.

She put away her nerdy glasses
She ripped her dress length into half
Combing out her ponytail and styling it to a bob
She applied lip gloss and mascara she stole from Mama
Wearing her worst colour of timberlands; pink with matching pantyhoses
Winged eyeliner, grey contact lenses
And with a last glance in the mirror
She was off.

In hushed tones and whispers
It was obvious all attention was on her
Taking long prideful strides down the hallway
The wind blowing her hair in every direction
Little did she know she was gaining the wrong attention
And then a scandal ensued
She wished she was never in it
Soon enough, she realized living in fame was leading a fake life.

Then she recalled these words she’d heard
And finally they began to make meaning
‘There’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark
You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are
You don’t have to change a thing, the world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful
We’re stars and we’re beautiful.’

Ibrahim Gladys Zugwai