Descriptive - Describe how you look and behave when you are at home and when you go out

  

I used to look like a beautiful cake before being adorned by all the colourful icing and decorations, before it was even baked. I used to look like the punched dough – my eyes, nose and mouth were all strangely bundled inward. Everywhere I went, I was sure to bring out laughter in everyone; I was a joke. Even my family was embarrassed to bring me out or to introduce me to their friends. Basically, I was down in the dumps throughout my dismal childhood. Fortunately, my parents were able to turn my life around. At the end of their wits, they brought me to Korea to undergo an eighteen-hour plastic surgery. I flew to Korea a punched dough and I came back a beautiful cake. I had metamorphosed.

 

Nonetheless, my personality remains the same – I am still an introvert otaku. I have no friends with whom I could yet spend time. I would still hole up in my house and spend the whole day immobile on my couch, looking dishevelled in my baggy, over-washed, faded clothes that I wear only at home, with an oversized square plastic spectacle constantly sliding down my oily nose and a black plastic hairband over my tousled Korean-permed brownish hair to keep them out of my vision while I binge watch my favourite series or binge read my favourite novels. I would be so immersed in the series or novel that I could forget to eat. Thus, my mother has to literally bring food into my room, clear up some space on the coffee table and put the food in front of me where I could see them, so I would not forget to eat them. Often, while my mother is in my room, she would tidy up the mess I made before leaving.

 

My parents are now very eager to bring me around the city, to display, or expose, me to the public, hoping that I could become famous one day and bring fame and glory to the family. So Mulan-ish, but with a twist. They would clothe me exactly like how the Korean superstars generally dress – striking-coloured suit with another popping-coloured t-shirt or bold-coloured stripe sweater and match them with a neutral, monochromatic pants or jeans. Even if it is just a short trip to the grocery store, I would spend so much time changing into different outfits until my parents are satisfied with my look. Do not even get me started on that one time when we were invited to a close friend’s wedding ceremony. The day before, I had spent almost the entire day just to get into the right outfit and the ceremony only lasted for about two hours!

 

Like I said earlier, I am basically still the old me, just that now I have a better-looking, expensive, face. When I am out in public, and with my parents’ zeal for making me famous, I often feel insecure as I would always recall back to the past when I was made fun of and laughed at publicly. Whenever I hear laughter, I would cower instinctively and my body would start to shiver.

 

Rome is not built in one day. My outlook might have metamorphosed, but not my personality. I hope that one day my personality would evolve too, into a confident, outgoing, materialistic, self-absorbed socialite that my parents want me to become.

 

563 words

written by Mr. Tan, in 2020