For everyone who feels they need to change to be 'perfect' :)

Imperfect is the New Perfect

"No! Stand straighter!"

"Point your toes!"

"Smile wider!"

"Mind your makeup!"

"Don't touch your hair!"

"God, Chelsea, you're hopeless! You'll never win that pagant! Get out of my sight!"

I ran out of the room, crying. I'll never be like all the other girls. They're all so perfect and I'm... me...

I wiped the mascara off my face and looked out the window. The other kids were playing around, chasing each other. I don't know how they can play without any makeup on. They can't go out looking like that!

I decided to take off the expensive dress and the makeup. It was beginning to itch. I decided, after I got dressed, I'd just play with my dolls for a while.

I changed into a pair of leggings and a top. I took out my dolls and started playing. Suddenly, there was a knock on my window. I looked over and saw a girl swaying outside. She looked down and said something to someone. Then she knocked on my window again. I ran over and opened it. She climbed in, without a word.

The girl had short pink hair with a red bandana wrapped around it. She was wearing a pair of muddy jeans and a shirt with lots of stains on it. She grinned at me.

"We wanted to see if you wanted to play chase with us. You looked very sad so Jules said we should include you."

I cocked my head to the side. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the window. "That's Jules," She pointed to a girl with blonde hair tied up in a messy ponytail, "And there's Lanna and Sabrina," She pointed to two girls playing in a pond. One had long blonde hair and the other had long black hair, "There's Denny, Mark, Elliot and Vaughn," She pointed to a bunch of boys by my window. One had messy brown hair, one had blond hair, one had silver hair and one had pink hair the same colour of the girl's. She pointed back to herself, "And I'm Natalie."

"I'm Chelsea," I said. She grinned and shook my hand

One of the boys shouted up. "Hey! Is she coming down or not?"

Natalie looked back at me. "Well, you heard Denny. Are you coming down or not?"

I looked over at the door to the hallway. Would Mother be mad? Well, she told me that she didn't want to see me so I guess it's safe. I turned back to Natalie and nodded. "Okay."

We took hold of the drain and slid down it. Down on the ground, I brushed myself off and looked around at everyone. The blonde haired girl ran up to me and suddenly gave me a hug.

"You came! I'm Julia but you can call me Jules. I thought you looked so lonley so I said we should invite you along!"

I smiled shyly. Julia called Lanna and Sabrina over. Lanna had a streak of mud across her face and Sabrina had a few small twigs stuck in her hair.

Natalie inkled and we started to play tip. Denny was on. We all ran off into the park. I heard Denny's voice coming closer to me so I quickly jumped into a bush. He ran past me.

I tried to get up but the branches got caught in my hair. In my attempt to pull them out, I slipped and ended up in a pile of mud. I was destroyed.

I let out a small wail of despair. I even fail at playing tip. I can't do anything right!

There was a rustle behind me. I turned and saw the silver haired boy, Vaughn, looking down at me. I tried to cover my face but he had already seen me.

"Why are you crying?"

I suddenly started crying like mad. Tears fell down my face. Vaughn looked slightly alarmed. I tried to wipe them away. "I can't do anything right! I'll never be perfect!"

Vaughn shot me a confused look and knelt down beside me. "Why do you need to be perfect?"

I looked at him like he was mad. "B-because! I-isn't that what everyone wants to be..?"

He shook his head. "No. I see those pagant girls everyday and they just look fake. They have a bunch of makeup on their face and they're wearing fancy, expensive dresses. They can't be perfect if they have to wear makeup. Besides, it's hard work trying to be perfect. It's better to be imperfect."

He gently took my hand and led me to the front of the park. We were facing a big hall with lots of girls outside. They were wearing fancy dresses and lots of makeup. One turned around and, for the first time ever, I saw how weird she looked. She looked like she was made of plastic.

I gently touched my face. It was fleshy, chubby and real. I looked down at my nails. They were short, bitten and real. I felt my hair. It was tangled, greasy and real. I was real.

"You are perfect Chelsea. You just need to see it."

I turned and looked at him. His face was streaked with mud and his hair was greasy looking. I looked over my shoulder and at Natalie, Julia, Lanna, Sabrina, Pierre, Elliot, Denny and Mark. They were running around, having fun. My face broke into a huge smile. I hadn't smiled that big in ages.

I tapped Vaughn on the shoulder and ran away, yelling "You're it!"

You see, the girls who look perfect aren't. We all have flaws, some are just better at hiding them than others. But the people who let them show and show them with honour are the perfect people.

Imperfect is the new perfect.