My shield
     My memory since I was little are filled with great beautiful moments. But I will always remember how insecure I was of the appearance of my two front teeth. They were super present, so present that they literally stood in front of all my other once. Because of my big teeth I wanted to have something that took away in a way the fact that I had really bunny like teeth. So since I can remember I'd ask my mother, aunts, and grandma to fix my hair every day in the morning before school or going out. I also loved having new things done like braids, different types of ponytails, buns and cool pins too. With time I noticed that it was my way of trying to be known by what I wanted to portray and not as a girl who had bunny looking teeth.
   One day on second grade class room one of the boys called me "conejita" because of my teeth, and in my head, I already knew why he said bunny, before he even explained himself. It was because of my front two teeth, and why didn't I said nothing, because even I thought that about myself. I did not like that my cousins, little brother and class mates had decent looking teeth compared to mine, I really thought it was unfair.

My mother, aunts and grandma always made my hair look slick right after I got dressed in the morning and as any kid I kind of hated it. When my new teeth grew, and I noticed that the once in the middle were like really in front of the other once I did not gave it attention; you know a kid being a kid. With time I started noticing that everyone around me did not had their teeth like mine, not even the kids at school. And then they made comments about them but the main one that always stuck in my head was the bunny comparison. Finally, one day I had enough I kind of did not want to be known as "that kid with the bunny teeth". I needed something different and more "cool" than my teeth so when my family brushed my hair I started asking for them to do new styles. It was like a boom every girl on my grade wanted to have hairstyles like the once I was going to school with and boys started telling me my hair was "cool". Finally, I was known by what I wanted to be, something positive that brighten my day and made me feel pretty.
   When I was around fourth grade it wasn't as easy as having different hairstyles because we were older, and things didn't slip people just because the hair was different than most. By that time, I decided to better let my hair loose and long and only trim it once in a while. My hair functioned as a curtain to me. I could hide myself better I guess and feel less expose and if you have long hair it takes away that exposure of having short and almost no hair near your face. On fourth grade I got my bracers, thank God I could see the light at the end of the tunnel brighter and closer.
     I'm a shy person and personal with what I want people to see and know about me since forever. But while growing up I was really insecure of myself because of my me teeth so I tried not to smile a lot with my teeth showing or cover my mouth with my hand and was very self conscious of the way I looked. My hair was and still is a way of feeling less insecure and feeling safe in a way. But now I know I'm a work of art on my own way and I've learned to love myself the way I am.

                                                               Work Cited
Rowley, Tabatha (2003). Hair Chronicles. Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution. (Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters) New York: Regan Books. pp. 96-111