I was not a cute teenager. My hair was always greasy, I had mild cystic acne and scars, my nose was too big for my face and my figure was perfectly pear shape. My parents never told me I was pretty, in fact, I remember asking my mom a bunch of annoying kid questions and her responding with "get your beak out of my business." My parents always went on about how beautiful my little sister was/is.

Then, one day, I turned into kind of a babe. I remember the day clearly. A group of Japanese exchange students at my college asked to take a picture with me. They called me a kawaii American. Three of the boys hugged me. XD Silly, but I dunno. It mattered.