From LIPS TOUCH by Laini Taylor — a most exquisite, delicious book, and illustrations to match:

“With a deep, visceral ache, she wished her true form might prove to be a sleek and shining one, like a stiletto blade slicing free of an ungainly sheath. Like a bird of prey losing its hatchling fluff to hunt in cold, magnificent skies. That she might become something glittering, something startling, something dangerous.”

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I remember being a girl of about 8 or 9, standing in my bathroom and measuring my height by the pale purple tiles on the wall. How I longed to grow tall, to become a woman with long slim legs that men noticed when I walked by. And more: I wanted to be blonde, and named Jennifer, with green or blue eyes. Either would do.

But I was (and still am) a girl of average height, with brown hair and brown eyes. I’m content with my physical self and my name now, but for years I longed to look like someone else — to be someone else.

I think most girls harbor these secret longings inside their hearts. Even those with confidence. (I was actually fairly self-assured as a kid.) There’s just this sense that “other” is better. And maybe it’s just a sort of boredom, a need for change.

I don’t think it’s so bad to wish for “other” things — it shows imagination. But as we mature, hopefully those things mature with us. From hair and legs and eye color, to strength and compassion and wit. These are my secret wishes now. That is the woman I want to be.