I Don’t Want to Be Prettier, I Want It to Be Quieter – A Naperville Teenage Girl on Social Media Pressure and Body Image

A hyper-personal, dialogue-driven portrait of a Naperville teenage girl navigating social media pressure and body image late at night—when mirrors, phones, and thoughts get loud, and one friend staying makes the difference.

Locality: Naperville, Illinois
Neighborhood: Maplebrook II
School: Naperville North High School

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Draft saved. Not posted.

Maya:
are you awake

Lena:
yeah
my brother’s xbox is yelling
what’s wrong

Maya:
I don’t know how to say it without sounding insane

Lena:
try anyway

(Typing. Stops. Starts. A single period. Then nothing. Then a screenshot.)

(Instagram. Same girl. Same mirror. New story this time. Video. Turning sideways. Laughing.)

Maya:
why does she get to look like that
without trying

Lena:
she tries
she just doesn’t show it

Maya:
everyone says that
but what if she actually doesn’t

(Lena doesn’t respond right away.)

Maya:
I stared at my face in the mirror tonight
like really stared
and I swear it looked different than yesterday
like wider
or lower
or wrong

Lena:
wrong how

Maya:
like it shouldn’t be mine

(A minute passes.)

Lena:
where are you right now

Maya:
on my bed
lights off
phone on my chest
I keep refreshing
even though I know nothing changed

Lena:
yeah

Maya:
I deleted three photos today
ones that were already posted
I couldn’t stand knowing they were still out there
like evidence

Lena:
I do that too
I pretend it’s “curating”

Maya:
I counted calories in my head at dinner
I didn’t mean to
it just happened
like a background app I can’t close

Lena:
did your mom notice

Maya:
she asked why I wasn’t hungry
I said I ate late
I hate how easy it is to lie now

(Typing bubble. Gone. Back again.)

Maya:
do you ever think
if someone else lived inside your body
they’d be happier with it

Lena:
yeah
all the time

Maya:
I feel disgusting for even saying this
but when I see girls thinner than me
I feel angry
and then I feel worse
because I know they didn’t do anything to me

Lena:
that doesn’t make you bad
it makes you stuck

Maya:
I don’t want to be stuck
I just want it to be quiet

(Voice note from Maya. Her voice cracks halfway through, then steadies.)

Maya (voice):
today in the hallway
by the science wing
I caught my reflection in the trophy case
and I thought
“that’s what people see”
and my stomach dropped
like I missed a step
I spent the rest of the day trying not to cry
over literally nothing
which somehow made it worse

(Lena listens. Doesn’t reply immediately.)

Maya:
sorry
that was dramatic
you don’t have to say anything

Lena:
it wasn’t dramatic
it was specific
there’s a difference

Maya:
sometimes I think
if I just disappeared for a week
everyone would adjust
and when I came back
I’d feel lighter
like no one was watching anymore

Lena:
I hate that thought
because I’ve had it too

Maya:
I don’t want to tell my mom
she’ll look at me differently
like I’m fragile
or broken
or like I need fixing

Lena:
you don’t need fixing
you need rest
from being looked at
including by yourself

Maya:
how do I do that
when my phone is literally right here

Lena:
I don’t know
I just know tonight
you’re talking to me
and not the mirror
and that counts for something

(Three dots.)

Maya:
do you promise
that if I say ugly things about myself
you won’t argue with me
but you also won’t agree

Lena:
I promise
I’ll just stay

Maya:
okay
then here it is
I feel too much
and also not enough
at the same time

Lena:
yeah
that’s the worst one

(No messages for a while. Then—)

Maya:
are you still there

Lena:
yeah
I was just breathing
you can do that too

Maya:
thank you
for not trying to make this pretty

Lena:
it isn’t pretty
it’s just real
and you don’t have to hold it alone

(Seen. 12:38 a.m. Phone face-down. Outside, the streetlight hums. Tomorrow will still have mirrors. But tonight, someone stayed.)

What This Is Actually About (Even If It Doesn’t Feel Like It)

• This isn’t really about mirrors or photos
• It’s about being watched all the time, even when you’re alone
• It’s about learning how to see yourself through other people’s eyes
• And not knowing how to turn that off

Sometimes the hurt isn’t loud.
It’s just constant.

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What Makes It Worse (Without You Meaning To)

• Scrolling when you already feel bad
• Comparing your inside to everyone else’s outside
• Thinking you’re the only one who feels this way
• Trying to “fix” yourself instead of resting from the pressure

None of that makes you weak.
It makes you human in 2025.

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What Actually Helps (Even a Little)

• Saying it out loud to one safe person
• Letting someone sit with you without correcting you
• Naming what’s happening instead of arguing with it
• Remembering that feelings pass, even when they feel permanent

You don’t need a solution every time.
Sometimes you just need someone to stay.

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Small Start (For Tonight)

Ask yourself one honest question:

“Who do I feel least fake around?”

Text them.
You don’t have to explain everything.
“Are you up?” is enough.

You’re not broken.
You’re just living in a world that never stops looking.