In high school, some dumb boy that I did not like, nicknamed me mouse. It had nothing do to with my height. I am 5’11”. It had to do with my small teeth. Oh how I hated that name and how I hated my teeth (still do). They are the bane of my existence. It all started when I was in the first grade and I had my front tooth knocked out by a baseball. Thank goodness, it was a baby tooth. Six years later, I ran into a padlock on a sheet and it ruined the same tooth, now an adult one. (The story is a long one, but just know that my little sister still feels guilty about it.) My dentist had to complete a root canal, and cap it. Of course, the color of my teeth is hard to match and it is very apparent that it is a fake tooth. In my early twenties, I got braces thinking that it might help and it did, just not as much as I liked. Now here I am in my late thirties and I had to get a retainer. Yes, I look like a very weathered sixteen year-old. And the retainer calls attention to my teeth, especially the one I despise.
But here is the thing. After all of this time, I consider it a part of me. My dentist keeps trying to talk me into getting a new cap. He thinks that technology has caught up and that he could match my color. So far, I’ve resisted because for the last twenty-six years, I’ve seen it in the mirror. It is a part of who I am and I guess I’m reluctant to let it go even though I hate it. There are lots of women out there with brown hair and brown eyes, but I don’t know any with a slightly off colored, small front tooth. If I was writing me in a book, it would be one of the things I would describe because it stands out and is unique.
What is the one thing that makes you or one of your characters stand out?
I think what makes one of my characters really unique is he has a lot of scars. It’s interesting, especially to my MC, because without him, he would be really attractive. He’s got an incredible body, but on every part of his exposed flesh, he has cuts and scratches ranging in size.
It’s a nice reminder to my character, who has a love/hate relationship with his body, that he is really lucky in a way. He has a chance to transform his body into what he wants, and nothing but himself really can prevent him from getting that body. Also, the character with the scars, isn’t ashamed of them. Reflecting the lesson that the things you cannot change you should love, otherwise you’ll never be happy.
Sometimes it is so hard to love those things about yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were all like your character? Accepting of ourselves and others.