Sunday, April 24, 2011

Teresa

(Teresa points to her scar, the aftermath of an unfortunate accident she had as a child.) 

Located on her right leg, a couple of inches below the knee, a deep indentation marks the spot where Teresa suffered a painful incident as a child. Involving a broken glass coke bottle and a jagged piece that embedded deep within her skin, this scar is the aftermath:

(A small closeup of the scar. Note how it stands out on her skin-a telltale characteristic of this particular "Ice Pick" healed scar tissue)


Growing up in Michoacan, Mexico, Teresa explains that from a small age she had always been expected to help out. This entailed helping out her grandmother, who owned a small paleteria (ice cream store).


In this small store, she says,  one particular room was used as storage. It was in this room that she found herself one day accidentally dropping (and breaking) a glass coke bottle.


Naturally, she says, glass pieces flew everywhere. Seeing the commotion, her aunt asked Teresa to pick up all the pieces. In her attempt to clean up everything as fast as possible, a big jagged piece dug itself deep in her flesh.


WebMd explains that, "Some scars can have a sunken or pitted appearance. This kind of scarring occurs when underlying structures supporting the skin (for example, fat or muscle) are lost."

When asked what she did to treat the wound, Teresa explained: "I remember my mom would tell me to pee in a cup and pour that over the wound, so it won't get infected. Believe it or not, it worked."



Sunday, April 17, 2011

Introduction: a little bit about this blog

For your listening pleasure...(and to set the mood for this blog)"Scar Tissue" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.


(click here for the song lyrics)


A little bit about this blog...

As the name denotes, (and in case you haven't read the sidebar) the purpose of this blog will be to talk about scars. Yes, that's right...you know, the scar tissue left behind on our bodies, the remnants of some traumatic experience or accident we went through at some point in our lives. Perhaps this took place back when we were younger, or maybe even in recent times. And while for the most part, this suggests the individuals in question experienced a rather painful ordeal that left them with scars in the first place, by sharing their experience, this may very well change one's perspective on scars...and learn more about the person who has them.

Without a doubt, there are tons of beauty products, treatments, and remedies out there that claim to be the ultimate cure for removing "unwanted", "unsightly" deformities on our skin. With such a perspective, it's safe to assume we live in a culture that stresses the importance-and highly esteems-perfection, however unaitainable that may really be.
(ABOVE: The famous Kardashian sisters in an ad for  their own brand of skin solution, promising "perfect skin" for their consumers. Photo Courtesy of igossip.com)

But like the saying goes, "a real person isn't perfect, and a perfect person isn't real". Our scars, our battle wounds, are those we should be proud of!