Zits and mistakes have a common feature. Pop a zit once it leaves a bright red mark and stays for quite a while. Pop it enough times it makes a scar that will last with you forever. Popping zits had come naturally to me. It was there so why not. Isn’t that how stupid stuff happens, it’s there so why not do something about it.

My friends, my mom, they all told me stop that nasty habit. ‘Did I want to have discolored scars on my face?’ they’d ask. Well not in particular, however I have another philosophy- I can’t see it, I don’t have to deal with it. It really didn’t bother me all that much because I didn’t have to look at myself, they were the ones who had to deal with it. Isn’t that also how mistakes work- you do things with no consideration of others and only how it affects yourself.

Well this time I didn’t scratch my head, I scratched my legs. My dog had a flea problem for months. Already mosquitoes love me, it seems as though I attract all bugs, including fleas. My legs got the worst of the brunt- and me being me, I scratched them. I have scars on my legs now that the doctor says will take ten years to fade.

When I had zits on my face, I only saw my face in my reflection. With my legs, all I have to do is look down. Whether it’s a small mistake like zits, those can escalate to big mistakes, like flea bites. And eventually, you suffer the consequences.