"It is not funny, it's not funny at all" and a 5th-grade me ran away, in hopes to move away from the site. Eyes were filled with tears, hate, anguish, and sorrow. I would cry and cry until the source of them got sore. But, who knew it was just a start, an unwanted terrible start?  

When I was 11, my parents discovered that my teeth were misaligned. They were a little surprised because we outed them at the proper time. Shortly after visiting the dentist, it was revealed that it was in the genes. My granny's teeth were also crooked, and so were mine. And, it literally changed my life.

Now, a 5th-class student was going through everything which one can never imagine. I still remember those hurting statements, silent laughs, and hidden jokes, which were a part of my life, till now. To avoid the remarks, I started simply smiling instead of a proper big one. To be honest, it never looked good on me. But I had no option. This continued for around 4 years until I looked for braces. Till then, I was used to being called out as an ugly, irritating, and low-confident girl. I practically learned what body shaming was at age of 14. All because of those genes. This even leads me into a quarrel with my family, for getting me into that ugly look. But, even the braces couldn't help me more. I was taunted and judged more for being an odd one out in the group photograph. For a long period, I forgot to realise what a smile exactly is !! I used to get very uncomfortable with my appearance, my personality, and myself. It was irritating for me when someone would make the comparison, or comment thinking it was a fun thing to do. For once I started using Snapchat to escape this. I still remember when one of my own closest friends remarked to me "Heroine Hai Kya, Daant Dekh Pehle Apne". I cried the whole night and when I refused to talk to him, everyone was like, "it's ok he's your friend, not to take it seriously".

How can you just cover such a ruthless comment as a joke, even after knowing that it hurts me a lot and it was enough now? Then, after clearing the boards, I gave up on these norms. I made up my mind to never give heed to these ruthless comments. And that's where it came as an understanding of what self-love actually is. The new me started to care for myself more, took skincare plans, and started smiling openly and showing off my braces. It was never an easy road, to realise how hard it was to just pamper yourself. Self-love at the beginning was not my cup of things, at least for me who totally forgot to take a stand. 

And for this, my escape route was to start writing and sharing what I have dealt with all these years. In order to wake people about the culture under which we all were sleeping, and growing up where making evil fun or shaming can consider you cool or funny and it did work. My road to success had already started but the actual moment when I can proudly look up to myself came early. Getting crowned as Miss Fresher 2019 was the moment when all the hard work paid off. And the girl in me started to rise in love once again, with her own self. Sometimes while looking back, I realised only if I could understand this much earlier. If one could ever get a chance to meet their past self, I would comfort that little Sanskriti, "You are the most beautiful person to ever exist, just remember to embrace your beauty with all the flaws".

Since then, I have come really far, and I don't even give a damn about new comments, shaming, or whatever because my heart and mind are totally in love with my scars, braces, and everything. Not even a single negative entity can fail this glorious relationship. Me, my confidence and my braces will always stand strong, with a cheeky smile.

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