The first scar I remember having as a kid, was on my knee. I was skateboarding and didn’t really calculate the curb the right way, so I hit my knee hard, screamed, and then my father, the paramedic, bandaged me up, and I was back on the streets skating with full gusto.
Second scar was on my forearm, of which my father had told me to be careful with the iron, but the inquisitive kid, I didn’t obey him, sat the iron down too close to me, and it lit my forearm on fire.
The last set of scars I got, my sister and I both shared because we both came down with the chicken pox. Of course, when I got them, my mother and father made sure I was cool and administered a few oatmeal baths, and I was back on my way.
However, my sister had the opposite reaction. The chicken pox had her down for the count for weeks, and the scars from the chicken pox created permanent marks on her body and her face. Because she has always been the beauty queen, in beauty pageants. Those scars created a high level of insecurity, and even though some of those scars remain today, her attitude about them is completely different now.
Her initial focus was to hide the scars, and she found every way to do that. But, I also remember the day she stopped caring and just let those scars be a part of who she is.
I heard something recently that really struck me, “One should never be afraid to bear their scars, because it brings unity.” - Toure Roberts
I remember as a kid, feeling a bit of distance from my sister because she was the beauty queen, and I was the drummer. People revered her beauty and cast me aside because I was just the little drummer boy. Some even considered it comical that I always had a pair of sticks in my hand. However, when my sister and I began to bear some of the same scars, we were both put in the same frame of mind because we both had similar things to stand up against, which aided our relationship.
What I have found in this life, is that we are more united by our scars and blemishes then by the smooth places. More of us have more scars than perfection, and it’s within that level of unity that we can understand that we are so much alike.
We ALL have scars, and I am thankful for the community that is built by blemishes. It takes courage to show our imperfections and not be defined by them. So I’m also thankful to my sister, because through her scars, she and I found unity and built upon our strength as siblings, all because she realized the beauty of her perfect imperfections.
Dedicated to Iris
#U&i