I never introduced myself to you. You know I'm blonde. Questioning a picture you saw of me, huh?
I'm Grace.

Funny name for a girl who celebrates Hanukkah right? The Jew? Well my parents' old Rabbi didn't like their pick Christina. Cause y'know the whole Christ thing.

Well, let me just say I support every religion. (So no 2016, I get offended at everything, okay? Okay? Yes TFIOS lol)

I am one of the only Jews in Stony Brooke actually. It's something that makes me stand out. Weird, right? Well I love who I am and being Jewish is a part of that. It's a part of me.

You don't even want to know the questions I've been asked! "So you don't celebrate Thanksgiving right?" "You still celebrate Christmas right?" "You don't believe in G-d right?" The last one someone actually fought me on.

Yeah, they fought me on whether or not I believed in G-d and yes, I do.
People are dumb but hey, they make me laugh.

So yes, I'm Grace, a 16 year old Long Islander with brown eyes and I'm a brunette. Naturally, that is. Dark dark brown hair that practically looks black. I love it, don't get me wrong, but after everything started happening, I wanted a change.

I did something I never thought I would ever do. Something I found insane and that I thought would be atrocious on me.

I went blonde!

Did you get that whole, duh duh duh thing? So yes, I'm blonde now and loving it, but at the time I was my natural brown hair brown eyes, fair skinned girl with probably over 100 birthmarks.

They just wanted to make sure I knew I was born. Y'know? Marked me at birth? But, I'm not in cult or anything. Unless, you count a theatre group as a cult?

Off topic... for now that is.
So yes, name, Check. Hair color, natural and dyed, check. Skin, wait.
I didn't tell you all about my appearance...
My skin. That's a long story.

It all started in 10th grade when I was the brown-haired girl with a bunch of dots on her face that weren't her cult, I mean, birthmarks...

If you didn't guess it, I'm a girl. And that's who I've always been and always will be. I was born one.

But, for all you out there feeling stuck in the wrong body, don't be afraid to find your true self and do something about it. I support you.

So this girly "became a woman" when she was TEN FLIPPING PANCAKES YEARS OLD (huh, for some reason I think I just saw a girl chasing red...) So yes my period. And the story that goes along with.

My period is my favorite time of the month because my boyfriend brings me STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE icecream.

Lol, I'm totally kidding. I don't have a boyfriend. To be honest, I barely have friends. I'm not having a pity party here or a party for that matter because well, THIS IS ME, I'M EXACTLY WHERE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE NOW... Sorry, I break out in song a lot.

McDonalds.

Sounds random, huh?

I wish I was British because I could say this and it would be ironic. That bloody place is where I got my bloody period for Pete's sakes.

True story.
Well that's where I found out at least.

I was blessed enough to be on a roadtrip.

To Florida.

If you don't know how far New York is from Florida, you don't want to know.

I was my ten year old self using the craphole's bathroom and that is the turning point of my early, early life with puberty.

I had boobs when I was in 4th grade.
Pointy, triangular boobs. I didn't even know or notice for that matter.

There's yearbook pictures of me with them. What a fun display I have of me with my teacher in a white tight shirt.

Again, me and boys are like trees and well, trees. We don't interact really and this whole mature growing thing didn't push them towards me if that's what you're thinking.

Puberty.

What a fun thing.

Not only was I completely embarrassed about my period for over 3 years straight (Now I will literally talk openly about it to anyone, I don't give a shit. If I have cramps, you're gonna know. The whole world is gonna know), I got every teenager's dream.

Pimples.

And not just a little bit of dots here and there, acne.

Everywhere.

My skin was just covered.

Sadly, it didn't surprise me.

My mom had it when she was young, and my two older brothers (did I forget to mention I have two older brothers, and yes for you wondering, they're decent looking) had it. They went to doctors though and after a while, each of them we're smooth and acne free.

They have the occasional blackhead every once in a while, especially because Shane, my middle brother, works out, every single pancake flippin day while I eat those mini chocolate Entenmann's donuts.

Shane just turned 20. He goes to Stony Brooke University. My oldest brother's name is Miles. He's 23. He goes to the Law School of St. Louis.
One brother is top of his class in his entire law school while the other has a 4.0 GPA at one of the best schools in the country (seriously it's on lists and crap).

They're smart, fit, and acne free.

Assholes.

So for my acne, I used creams to try and get rid of it or at least some of it. They didn't work. Non prescription cream after cream and then we finally went to the dermatologist.

It's every high schooler's dream to come to the one doctor that says "Hey kids look at all your acne!"
Actually no, my pediatrician questioned my shower habits because of it.

Just because I have acne DOES NOT MEAN I DON'T WASH MY FACE.

So they gave me different creams with the lovely big words such as benzoyl peroxide and shit.

Some helped a little bit, while others dried up my skin a lot.

We spent years trying.

Over 6 years went by until they finally decided it was time. I was in 10th grade. All I wanted was clear skin.

My skin was hopeless and there was only one last resort.

Accutane.

It's a strong pill you take every day that works it's magic and cleans your face within a few months. It's actually what my brothers and mom used, but they got it much quicker than I did.
The thing is accutane works.

Really well.

But it has side effects like everything else. You know those annoying and uncomfortable commercials that have nothing to do with the medication and then this robot voice starts declaring how you'll die or almost die if you use it.

This medication had one of those long lists too.

But we'd do anything for clear skin, won't we?