Kesha recently wrote a guest essay for Teen Vogue. Here is an excerpt:
"I’ve been an outcast ever since I can remember. I grew up in Nashville, with a single mom who was oblivious to social norms. She encouraged me to make music, sew my own clothes, and express myself. She told me never to be ashamed of who I was. Other kids didn’t know what to make of me.
I was often bullied and shamed into hiding the things that made me unique. I remember hanging up the velvet pants I had made by hand and asking my mother to take me to the Gap to buy some “normal clothes” at one point. That experiment failed miserably. It just wasn’t me.
When I think about the kind of bullying I dealt with as a child and teen, it seems almost quaint compared with what goes on today. The amount of body-shaming and baseless slut-shaming online makes me sick. I know from personal experience how comments can mess up somebody’s self-confidence and sense of self-worth. I have felt so unlovable after reading cruel words written by strangers who don’t know a thing about me.
...This year I made a pledge to take more breaks from social media and screens and spend more time in nature. For me, some of the most therapeutic experiences include hiking up a mountain or riding a bike by the beach. Being among animals in their natural habitats reminds me that my problems are so small. Our lives are no more significant than the lives of any other animals. We’re all just animals, after all!
I’m currently writing an album that explores how my vulnerabilities are a strength, not a weakness. With this essay, I want to pass along the message to anyone who struggles with an eating disorder, or depression, or anxiety, or anything else, that if you have physical or emotional scars, don’t be ashamed of them, because they are part of you. Remember that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. And that no one can take the magic you make."
Read the full essay at Teen Vogue.
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