Division | Teen Ink

Division

June 22, 2021
By brownietulips GOLD, Houston, Texas
brownietulips GOLD, Houston, Texas
10 articles 5 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Words mean more at night


Prophase 


To imagine how selfish you were 

Wishing to have broken limbs 

Snap like celery

For a cool pink cast

For what? 

To have perfect little Matthew

Validate your worth 

You didn’t even get the hype

We like boys now? 

Slowly you convinced yourself though 

Boys determine your beauty

Boys determine your worth 

Boys afterall 

Get it all 


Metaphase 


So you gave it a try 

Tried to look 

How they wanted you to

Because boys choose pretty 

And pretty means worth 


Right?


Anaphase 


You were so interesting 

Too bad you’re not anymore

Who else would watch 

Videos on cerebral palsy for fun

Now you collect dust inside 

Just as your homework does on your desk

But hey 

At least you’re pretty 

At least 

you 

have 

worth


Telophase 


Over the years 

You realize your faults 

Now it’s girl power 

And independence 

Cause that’s pretty 

That’s worth 

But you see

After years of lying to yourself 

After years of making yourself believe 

You know. 

You 

Can’t 

Teach 

An old dog 

New tricks


The author's comments:

This piece is about a girl who grows to crave male validation from a young age, resulting in self-worth issues during her adolescence. She quickly learns that boys have it "better" than girls in this world, and to have "worth" or "beauty", they must find her pretty. I chose an unconventional way of representing the girl straying from her true self, through the phases of cell division, because as she grows up, she divides into two beings similar to a cell. This process symbolizes the two versions of herself that exist: one the naive child, and the other the young adult who is now experiencing low self-worth from craving male attention growing up. Towards the end of the piece, I describe the recently rekindled awareness of the importance of self-esteem in girls. Although it has always been crucial in our society, it was often overlooked in the past. Now that "confidence is beautiful" and "girl power" is trendy, people have been paying more attention to it. However, due to many girls' upbringings, they have deep-rooted insecurity and issues with feeling validation from simply themselves. "You can't teach a new dog old tricks" is a well-known cliche that encapsulated the issue effectively. 


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.