This could be us, but

[u/vesmir_neasi]

I don’t need much. I want eat sweets without getting fat, I want to feel wanted and I want equal rights. Is it much to ask?

[u/momomomorgatron]

...I've had a lot of shitty sex because I had low self-esteem and hardcore baggage/light emotional trauma.

I moved from a rural area a hour away from a small city to the largest city in the state, and yyeeaahhhh... the guys here are better.

I thought I was a loser so I gave losers a shot. Here? I'm just another random person... and I've gotten actual compliments. I was bullied so severely in my hometown that I thought there was something almost intrinsically wrong with me, that I wasn't just a plain chubby girl, but instead was something more like, a pig putting on makeup- something so gross and ugly that you had to overcome with personality and friendliness and charm.

Until I lost jjjuuusstttt a little bit of weight and moved here. I've gotten real actual casual compliments, and the slight downside is that I was frumpy and a little overweight but NEVER ACTUALY UGLY all along.

People just treated me like shit.

I showed a friend of mine (that yes, I also have a crush on but would be fine staying friends with aswell) a picture of me at 15, kidding about my looks, when he said I looked like a young Drew Berrymore. And it kinda broke me.

Because he was right. In retrospect, I dont think she was incredibly gorgeous in Scream, but she was kinda normal girl pretty.

And holy fucking shit, was I normal girl pretty this whole time???

The answer was yes. I was normal regular girl who isn't pretty or not-pretty to yes, actually a cutie pie.

It only took me 19 years out of my 28 to figure out.

[u/Yskandr → u/momomomorgatron]

I wish something like this could happen to me, but sometimes a person is just actually ugly lol. I'm sorry people made you feel ugly when you weren't, that sort of thing can really fuck with your self image.

[u/a_guy_you_dont_know → u/momomomorgatron]

Jesus, this is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Kudos.

[u/momomomorgatron → u/momomomorgatron]

And a good handful of shitty lays that I didn't even really enjoy!!

[u/Munchkinasaurous → u/momomomorgatron]

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry that you had all that shitty experience, but I'm glad to hear that you found your confidence.

 Good luck with the friend that could be more than friends. Don't be afraid to make a move yourself, it's always possible that he's interested, but nervous about making a move.