I’ve genuinely wanted a nose job since before I could remember. I don’t recall exactly when it was or which specific comment made about my nose pushed me over the edge. However, somewhere in my tween years, I became conscious of my appearance in the mirror and I didn’t like it.
It wasn’t a vague distaste for my countenance as a whole but rather a distaste for the very feature that resided smack in the middle of my face: my nose. It was easily the most defining feature of my face, with a slender width and large hump. Yet, despite my friends and family insisting otherwise, I didn’t think it suited the rest of my features whatsoever. So, at some point back in middle school, I decided that I would get a nose job one day.
I’d like to preface this by acknowledging that plastic surgery is a tricky subject, and I’m not writing this to encourage or glorify cosmetic surgery whatsoever. I truly do believe that loving and accepting the body you were born in is a strength that lasts a lifetime. Deep down, I wish I could have gotten there myself. Maybe in another world, I could have learned to love the nose that was passed down through generations of women in my family instead of targeting it every time I looked through a mirror.
Despite my best efforts otherwise, I finally reached a point where I realized nothing I could do would make me love my nose in the near future. I had a talk with my parents, and they were surprised to learn my half-baked plans of a nose job I had pitched to them in seventh grade had actually stuck with me all these years. They were both surprisingly supportive, and they helped me out tremendously financially, which I am eternally grateful for. I used the money I had saved up from working and we split the hefty $10K cost down the middle.
I figured that if I hate one specific thing about my face every time I look in a mirror, and I have the funds and means to change it, why wouldn’t I?
After I had my mind made up, our next step was researching surgeons and going to consultations to find somebody who could offer the results I sought. I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex at the time, so there was an abundance of plastic surgeons to pick from. I finally decided on a highly renowned surgeon and set the surgery date for just 24 hours after my high school graduation.
Social media had prepared me to think that a nose job would be a huge, gruesome process, but it turned out to be the complete opposite.
The surgery itself and the first week of recovery were a breeze. I woke up from the surgery completely painless, and the medicine they provided me kept the pain very minimal. I had a drip pad of gauze under my nose for less than a day and the cast for a week. After that, I went to my surgeon to see my nose for the first time. Needless to say, I was in love.
Getting my cast and splints removed were slightly painful experiences, but nothing too excruciating. Splints are the pieces of metal that are shoved up your nose to keep it structured during recovery, and getting them ripped out of my tender nostrils was less than enjoyable. My eye bruising, however, was extremely minimal and only lasted around 10 days before completely healing. After only one week of bed rest and prescribed drugs, I looked fairly normal — with a brand-new nose!
It’s now been nine months since my surgery, and a common question I get asked is if I regret it. Thankfully, I can wholeheartedly say that my answer is, and always will be, no.
The sheer amount of confidence that my nose has given me has truly been life-changing. I find myself taking pictures with friends and not being terrified to see what they’ll look like in the shared album the next day. Looking in the mirror and liking what I see is such a refreshing, lifting experience, and it makes every penny spent completely worth it.
Of course, there are still parts of my body I’m insecure or unhappy with, just like everybody else. This begs the question, would I ever get additional plastic surgery? My answer to this, once again, is no.
The process of getting a rhinoplasty has been such a positive event in my life, and I’m eternally grateful for the experience as a whole. That being said, I need people to understand that I didn’t get a nose job because I just didn’t like my nose. My nose, as embarrassing as it is to admit, consumed my life for years. I thought about it every hour — not just getting ready in the morning and staring into my vanity.
I was constantly worried about what people next to me in class or in a restaurant were thinking of my side profile, and I refused to be in pictures and videos that forced me to leave my comfort angle of a front view. I felt as if my nose defined my entire face.
No other insecurity I have will ever measure up to the way my nose affected me. There’s always going to be things to pick apart in the mirror. Despite my positive experiences with plastic surgery, I still recognize that it’s a drastic measure to take. I believe it should only be taken if you think the effects would have an equally drastic effect on your confidence.
That being said, if you are currently contemplating plastic surgery for similar reasons as mine, don’t shy away from it for fear of losing yourself and your authenticity. I feel more myself than ever with my little, sloped nose. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I had to change the biggest insecurity of my entire childhood and teen years.
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