Reflection Paper On Appearance

Growing up, I heard many heartfelt stories with the main message being that it’s what is on the inside that matters. While I firmly believe this adage to be true, I am not naïve enough to believe that these inner characteristics are the only parameters that people use to view and judge others. This includes my judgement of other people and their perceptions of me. I try very hard to not let someone’s appearance influence my view of what kind of person they are because this type of unfair assessment greatly impacted my life. My outward appearance became a hot topic when I was twelve years old. During this time, most of my classmates started showing off their healthy adult teeth and getting braces, which slowly molded their teeth into beautiful smiles. It was no longer normal for a kid to have large gaps in his mouth, where adult teeth should be. During this awkward time, I fielded numerous questions from my peers

Brennick’s promise would come to fruition. I always told myself that at that point, I would be happy again. And when that day came, I was indeed very happy. I gained the confidence and courage to greet the world with a smile. However, as I sit and reflect I now realize that there was no climatic point when I finally got my smile back. I steadily increased my self-assurance and achieved my happiness over time and in many discrete instances. This occurred during numerous 6 a.m. emergency visits to Dr. Brennick’s office to reattach broken false teeth just so I would feel comfortable for the day, it was when I was greeted with funny jokes and empathy during each of my visits, or when I received phone calls from Dr. B assuring me that all of this would be worth it in the end. These were the moments that I received my “perfect smile”. These are the moments that changed something in me and I can truly say that I am no longer ashamed of my defect or believe that I was given a short