The Ugly White Swan

  There is a girl that I once knew. She was smart, beautiful and popular. She was everything that anyone would want to be. She was always surrounded by people, always involved in a conversation, always busy with something or someone. Where ever she went, she always had a smile on her face. Everyone thought she was happy, even me. I mean, who wouldn’t be happy considering everything she had.

  I was friendly with her, but I didn’t really know her all that well.

  Then, one day, early in winter, I found her crying behind some tree’s at school. Naturally, I tried to comfort her. I asked her what was wrong.

  “There is so much that’s wrong,” she admitted to me, “all day, every day, I this act on that I’m happy with who I am. In truth, I’d much rather be alone some of the time, just reading a book on the steps, rather than being surrounded by all those people. Just once, I want to do something, not because I know everyone else wants me to do it, but for myself, because I want to do it.”

  I was shocked at what she had just confessed to me. Here I was thinking how happy she always was. I had always thought that anyone would be happy with everything that she did have. I realised that although she was happy on the outside, behind closed doors, she was a total wreck. She had never admitted it to anyone, and now that she had, she could admit it to herself.

  So the next day, at break, we took a book and sat down on the steps, just as she wanted. And for once, I saw how she looked when she was truly happy. She was finally doing something for herself and she felt amazing. Ever since that day, we’ve been best friends. I know that I can count on her and she knows that she can always count on me.

  Now, when she walks down the halls at school, she is genuinely happy. She may not always be surrounded by people, but she’s happy.  That’s not to say that she never talks to anyone or that she’s not still friends with all those people, but she knows that when she needs a break, she can always just get up and leave.

  So that’s how I learned that the one person that you can always count on is yourself. I look back on the day that I admitted to myself that I was unhappy and I smile, because that was the day that I truly discovered myself.