Amy: A Narrative Character Portrait by Stella Ge (2014)

In my narrative Cracks, I depict the experience of an appearance-obsessed, insecure teenage girl in a school bathroom that has a lasting impact on the way she views herself and those around her. Amy is just going about her normal routine, examining her flaws in the mirror and attempting to beautify herself to the standards demanded by the world around her. She soon discovers another girl trying to make herself throw up in the adjacent stall, none other than Stacy, the popular girl who Amy considers to be perfect in every way. She realizes that she is not alone in this struggle of manipulation of appearance to conform to society's beauty norms. Nobody is perfect; everyone has cracks. My character portrait is a snapshot of Amy before this experience as she is self-evaluating and self-doubting as she gazes at a reflection that is only skin-deep. She is surrounded by objects that tell her what to look like and how she can improve herself, all collaborating in an effort to establish an impenetrable barrier between perfection and those longing for it.