TW: bullying
Back in middle school, I was on top of the world. Every time I walked down the hallway, the usual murmurs and whispers followed me. "Wow! It's Anna! She's as pretty as always," I would overhear the boys say. I had grown accustomed to the admiring glances and the occasional shy smiles. Popularity was something that came naturally to me, and I never had to work for it. I basked in the attention, feeling like a princess in my own little kingdom.
"Hey, Anna! Let's go to the snack bar," one of my many friends called out. I smiled and agreed, thinking to myself how effortlessly these things came to me. As we made our way through the crowd, I couldn't help but reflect on my life. Receiving praise for my looks had been a part of my daily routine for as long as I could remember.
"She's a princess!" I remembered people saying when I was younger.
"Look at how beautiful she is! Did she get that from her mother?" others would ask.
