Once there was a girl who was 12 years old, she always got made fun of just because her teeth weren't the same as others; she didn't care because she's her own person. Her name was Ashley Martinez, but she liked to be called Ash. Until one day,  October 9, 2017 she went to a special place in Washington Heights which would change her life and her look. I think she looked nice with her teeth all messed up because that's what made her, herself. She always counted on her best friend because she would make her feel better and tell her to not listen to the boys because they’re just stupid.

“Ashley go to sleep. You need to wake up early tomorrow to catch the bus.” her mom hollered.

“Ugh,OMG I don't want to go,I already know people are going to make fun of me or stare at me in school”I replied.”Well,I already told you to ignore those kids they have nothing better to do. Now, I don't want to hear it. If you don't want to wake up in the morning.”Her mom sighed.OKAY,goodnight.”I responded

Ashley Martinez has a good memory even when things happened to her when she was younger she remembers but never likes to talk about it. She remembers her hair being split to the middle and in a low bun. She was uncomfortable laying down on the orthodontist chair to get braces. She was scared, shaking, thinking something would go wrong. Also,they wouldn't let her mom in the room to check up on her so that was very nerve-racking for her because she was just a little girl. She was so scared that she even forgot that the lady was waiting for her to calm down.So, when Ash was calm, they finally began to start the work. Thirty minutes later, they were finally done she felt like it was 5 hours laying in the bed for the procedure to be done.The assistant that was putting her brackets in asked her “What color rubber bands would you like?” he asked.

She answered burgundy because that was one of her favorite colors.

Her mom told her you survived because she was so worried she was going to faint or something.Her mom would always say she was so extra and dramatic.I mean she's just a kid what would you expect. After getting her brackets on, molar bands, and rubber bands, her mom treated her to IHOP at 176 and broadway she was really hungry because she wasn't allowed to eat before. When she got there she had not even got seated and she regretted to go there because she was just looking at the plastic sticky booth,covered in syrup from the last customer. She ordered chocolate chip pancakes with eggs and bacon. While she was waiting for her food, her mom kept on asking, “Does your mouth hurt?”

“Obviously, because its my first time I ever got them put in” was Ash’s reply.

When she and her mom finished eating, they went home and she started to do her homework. When she got back to school two days after the procedure, her tooth ache was gone but everyone kept asking her if she got braces. I mean, how did they know? Well, its City Knoll Middle School, everyone knows everything. Ash's face flushed with gratitude as Ja’nyah handed her a cookie with a small smile on her face. Ash was kind of feeling weird because everyone was staring at her,especially Paola.

This was important to her because it was an awkward experience and it felt weird for little pieces of metal to be in her mouth. She wants people to know that it doesn't matter how you look or what you have inside of you that your beautiful just the way you are.If you survived an experience like this she wants you to know that your not the only person thats been through this and you just need to be strong because haters are going to hate.