Keira

e i g h t e e n

Like acrylic paint spilled over a clean cloth, her mistakes were permanent. No matter how hard Keira scrubbed at the stains, they wouldn't go away.

The halls were full of whispering students, all staring openly at Keira. They didn't recognize her, mostly because they'd lost her under all the rumors.

She wore the same clothes, because she looked good in it, and the same makeup, because she liked it. But the way she nervously edged down the hallway, head slightly lowered, chatting freely with Maia as if nothing had happened- it was like she was a whole different person. 

Keira bumped into someone and apologized instead of hissing a cold remark back at them. They walked away, relieved yet shocked. Keira felt better because she didn't feel like she had to defend herself every step of the way, that being nice was netter than being the one with a pointy stick. 

After talking with Maia, she realized how much that she'd changed, and how much she didn't like it. She felt trapped. She felt unlike herself. And she felt remorse. Things won't get better immediately, Keira knows that. She still has the guilt of what she's done weighing on her conscience. Her home might never be whole again. And she wants desperately to go back and change it all. 

But here she is, this is how far she's come, and she's going to try and get better. 

The thing that Keira had always been wrong about was herself. 

Keira isn't cold. She isn't ice or fire or vengeance or flirting or destruction. She's strong, not because of what she's been through, but because that she's still fighting. She's scared. She feels alone. 

Society says she's a bad girl. A monster. She hasn't always done the right thing in the past, but she's still like one of us. A human. A girl. And to dehumanize her with any sort of label is wrong, there is so much more to Keira, to all of us, that we cannot see if we force people into marked boxes and refuse to think twice. 

So is Keira a bad girl? Everyone makes mistakes, not all of which are justified, but she doesn't deserve the label 'bad.' You didn't know her before reading this, you all believed she was bad, because you only used what you knew- which is that she isn't good. But when you unravel someone, their past, present, fears, hopes, dreams- then you really see them. 

The odds of fully unraveling everyone you meet like a ball of yarn, the outermost strand to the very inner, coiled tightly within layers and layers, is rare. So you should never make assumptions, never force people into positions they don't want.

Do you remember Keira as a scared, insecure freshman? Do you remember the way she wanted friends and to fit in so badly that she went along with everything? Do you remember how she became trapped in a box that wasn't right? 

The next time you're about to call someone out, think about it. Don't do it. Nerd, freak, emo, slut, stupid- what's that doing besides feeding negativity?