I noticed recently that I have faint stretch marks. Am I upset, no, not even a little bit. Here's…

I noticed recently that I have faint stretch marks. Am I upset, no, not even a little bit. Here's why.

I was born with a syndrome that basically resulted in a tongue too large for my mouth, and an omphalocele ( abdominal wall wasn't closed there fore my intestines were in a sac outside of my body). Because of this it caused other problems and multiple scars. One on my stomach from when they stitched me up, several on my neck and chest from tubes as a baby and toddler, ones on my tongue to make it smaller and several scars from kidney surgeries to remove stones. So you would think I'd hate scars by now they decorate my body like tattoos. But here's the thing, I suffered and struggled and came out stronger every time. My grandparents and parents say that I some how made the best of my situation and thrived despite this. These scars have a story and these stretch marks are a new chapter. The fact that I carried a child, not just a child but one that beat the odds when they were against her. She doesn't have what I have, she won't go through what I did. But she will ask me one day about it and I will tell her and let her know she was so lucky.

These scars say I am strong, I am brave, I can endure and achieve. So women don't see them as a bad thing or that they are ugly.