Sick Girl Part VIIII

No, I am not completely cured of my skin disorder.  I have scars still and I will have to have more surgeries in the future, but my life has changed.  I am not in as much pain as I used to be in.  I can sit, stand, and walk a lot longer than I used to be able to and that is way more than I ever expected.  That awful, awful part of my life is finally over. 
            Yes, I am really self-conscious about scars that are still on my body.  I don’t like to be naked in front of others.  I know they will freak out and treat me like the sick girl.  The only part of my body that is not permanently scarred from HS are my breast.  I can wear clothes I have not been able to wear in 4 years.  I feel like I can even, maybe, work again.  I still have my writing business and I am starting off with some work from home opportunities.   I am doubting myself and I am still afraid to step back into the world.  I have been hidden away so long.  I don’t want to be the sick girl forever.  I don’t want to feel helpless again.  I don’t want to be depressed and sad anymore.  I know that with more time, I will spread my wings again and fly. 
            My love life…well, it’s a work in progress.  I hate the process of explaining still why I am not like the other girls my age.  I hate the process of telling guys about the scars my pretty clothes hide.  I hate them thinking that I am  in the position I am in because I lack drive and ambition.  I have all the  reasons why my dating pool is not as large….  I’m black, overweight, unemployed for the most part, emotional and physically scarred from HS and past hurts.  But I am also intelligent, loyal, feminine, no kids, caring, understanding, funny, spontaneous, and a pretty darn good writer/researcher.  Yes I have quirks: sensitive, spoiled, and can be a little all over the place but I know how to love.
            I guess the main thing is, I want to be understood.  I want someone to truly love me for all that is me, good and bad.  My friend Ken said it best, “I would love you bald-headed with one leg”, when I asked him if my scars bothered him.  I guess it takes a strong man to love a sick girl, a bird with a broken wing.  I guess it takes an even stronger sick girl to allow herself to be loved that completely too.