14 Comments
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Coriander Stevenson's avatar

“It’s not something you earn” AAAAAAAAAAA I felt this so deeply. Thank you for putting words to the feeling.

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grace's avatar

thank u for reading!

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mannie <3's avatar

i really like when you said « Girlhood was no longer something fun and pure. Somewhere along the way it’d turned painful, violent, disingenuous. » it reminds a bit of cassie in euphoria when she’s trying to please Nate and i understand completely what you mean

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grace's avatar

so glad u get it thank u so much for reading

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lena's avatar

this was such a perfect read and i love how you've encapsulated so many complexities with just the idea of red nail polish, you have such a gift!

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grace's avatar

thank u so much!! i’m so glad u enjoyed it and noticed the nuances i was trying to establish

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char's avatar

"I was taller than all of my friends. I weighed more than all my friends. I had curves where my friends were still flat. I wasn’t a girl anymore. I wasn’t a woman yet. I was something else entirely, something that reeked of loneliness." connected with this part so much, i never see people talk much about the struggles of being an early bloomer, about wanting to look older as a child only to end of having exactly that before you're even ready to make sense of it.

i dealt with the same thing growing up and it made me feel so terribly different and very alone. i also stayed away from the things my friends liked for fear of being perceived as girly. very beautiful storytelling 🤍

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grace's avatar

thank u so much for reading! it’s definitely an isolating experience i think should be talked about more. even now, i still feel the repercussions of that isolation in my sense of self/body image. it’s tough, but i’m so glad writing about this allowed me to see other people felt the same :))

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bailey's avatar

this is absolutely stunning! filled with such relatability about femininity. i remember having a babysitter who had a whole box of nail polish with all the colors on paper and the beginning reminded me of that so much. such a lovely read!

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grace's avatar

thank u so much for reading! i’m glad u were reminded of that memory because it sounds so similar to my experiences & the curiosity/youthfulness i was trying to convey at the beginning :))

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bailey's avatar

aww of course!! and yes absolutely, you conveyed it perfectly.

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Jabria Williams's avatar

A perfect read with the perfect end. It's time for "putting ourself first" to stop being so radical

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grace's avatar

i couldn’t agree more! women give so much of themselves to the world that self-care can really be simply remembering they’re worthy of their own time. thank u so much for reading.

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Jul 19
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grace's avatar

i’m so happy this resonated with you! thank you so much for being here and sharing your thoughts 🤍

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