"What's it like to have a gap between your teeth?" a girl asked me one day.

    Nobody had ever 1 before. My hand unconsciously rose to cover my mouth. But, as she looked at me, sincerely waiting for2, 1 realized she was not trying to be rude. "I never think about it," I truthfully replied. She nodded and turned away. I was left wondering if people3 me and saw only gappy teeth.

    Later that day at home, I began to 4 my teeth again. I felt upset. I thought my life would be somehow better if my teeth were not gappy. How I wanted the perfect teeth that everyone else seemed to have!

    Of course, Mom 5everything . She has lived her entire life with gappy teeth, and tried to convince me that there was nothing to 6. When I refused to listen, she told me I could get the surgery to close the gap if it was that important. "Let's be 7, though," she said. "If everyone got surgeries to become pretty, everyone would be exactly the same. There is beauty in differences."

    Her 8 made me consider my teeth seriously. The thought of losing my gap was more terrible than the reality that people were going to notice it. I realized how important it was to me. It is part of my9.

    Nowadays many people do ridiculous things to realize their dream of "perfection." The10 is that no one is perfect. When all potential for ugliness is removed, so is all of the potential for11.

    So if that girl ever asked about my teeth 12, I would truthfully answer. "You know? It's really cute."