I just need to be me.

The way they see me isn't the way I see myself.

They say I'm pretty and beautiful and I'm a good person.

Then when my back is turned

They say I'm fake and ugly and trying to be something I'm not.

Using filters,

Pretty words and clothes,

hides what I think of myself.

When I look in the mirror.

I don't see the beautiful girl,

I see the ugly one. The fake one. 

The one who wants to run away because of their remarks and my low self esteem.

When I turn that filter on, 

I'm a new me. 

I don't hear their nasty words 

Or fake compliments. 

I see a girl who is beautiful.

But then I realize who I am,

That I don't need a filter to be beautiful or smart,

I smile a genuine smile and begin to become happy with the way I am.

So I don't need to hide behind a filter or pretty words. 

I just need to be me. 

I just need to be real. 

With that filter on, I'm fake. 

Take it off and never put it back on,

and I'm real. 

I'm me. 

I'm proud to be the way I am.