Stretchmarks

"when i was in high school i weighed roughly 190 lbs. then, when i moved to santa cruz, i lost 60 lbs my freshman year. the scars are a physical reminder of how much i used to weigh. for that reason i kind of like them."

~Joel Z.

Benji, Or Something Like That

"when i was 2 and a half my parents had this dog, and his name was...what was the dog's name? i can't remember...something like Benji. It was a mutt and it was my dad's favorite dog because it was the first dog he got. I was playing with the dog and my dad went to get a beer. He left me there for like ten minutes. I grabbed the dog's face and tried to give it a kiss, and it bit me. it tore off like half my face. my parents took me to the hospital and they said it was the worst thing ever because they had to watch the doctors tie down their 2-year-old daughter and sew up her face."

-Amy G.

To Melanoma or Not To Melanoma"

"i have my surgery scar. my family has had a long history of skin cancer, so like three years ago, i got this mole on my ankle and the doctors thought it was melanoma, so i had to have it removed. not that exciting, but it did look pretty cool after i got it (pic related, it's a lot lighter now)"

~"Crayon Star"

Werewolf Attack

"So, I woke up one morning and tried to get up to make coffee, but when I stood up, my whole right leg was asleep. Instead of standing up and taking a step forward, I collapsed and fell sideways. The side of my leg hit the crown moulding on the wall, leaving this thing. I told my roommates I got bit by werewolves."
~Shane F.

Rugged...Like Charles Bronson, Perhaps

"Acne has been a big problem for me since like middle school, the worst time of my life. I had really bad skin and I was really bad at making friends. But, when I started college and moved away from home, I started eating better and eventually, my skin cleared up and you have the sexy Marc you see today. The scars just kind of make me look more rugged."
-Marc M.

Healing

"i cut myself from the time i was about fourteen, and after all these years, i still haven't quite been able to shake the habit. sometimes i catch people staring at them on the bus, and i get more ashamed of them every time. but, after six years, i still don't think i could stop."
~Anonymous

Reminds me of the Germs burn I gave myself in high school...

"I live in a cooperative house in Berkeley, and this was a typical weekend night of drunk frenzies, hastily smoked cigarettes, and pounding music. We were out on the balcony talking about stupid shit, and I'm standing there and Charlene is talking and I think of a game. Its a fucking stupid game but I interrupt with it.

"Hey Charlene, let's play chicken. We'll put our forearms against each others, and put a lit cigarette in between."

Charlene is down, and we start. I don't feel it at all at first, as a ring of people watches us intently, dancers and music gyrating inside. I start to feel a slow burn after a minute, but its dulled by the alcohol and so localized that its easily tolerable. This goes on, until we look up at each other, neither a loser.

The next morning as my hangover subsides, I crawl out again to the balcony and the sunlight and a cup of coffee. Charlene is out there, holding her own cup, and I see a vicious burn on her forearm. I start to ask, "Hey where'd–" and I stop, nevermind, and I look at my own arm to find my own mark, my own scar in precisely the same place. I consider it a mark and testament to the debauchery of the place I live, a reminder of my own dumb-ass decisions, and a message to myself to live life without regrets. Maybe you should leave out that line because its full of cheese and platitudes."

~Anonymous

When You Battle With Chairs

"...my scar is not very dramatic. It's
three faint white lines on my forearm. They were self-inflicted
unintentionally in a moment of anger many years ago. I was frustrated with
a cheap piece of furniture, a chair. I broke it, and flung a piece away
from me, scratching my arm in the process. The interesting thing about this
scar is that it was a very minor scratch which barely bled, and hardly even
hurt. It healed quickly, but the scar is permanent, and so is its effect.
I look at it often and remember that moment of rage. I realize now that I
wasn't mad at the chair, or even mad at anything else in my life; I was mad
at myself. When I see the scar now, I am reminded of the futility of my
rage, and I feel ashamed. This makes me want to improve my behavior."

-Anonymous

The first rule of fight club...

"I got this scar two days before my nineteenth birthday and is now the only physically noticeable thing that tells anybody that i was hit by a car. i didn't get my scar from the initial impact, but its from when i hit the pavement after flying twenty five feet. reconstructive and dental surgery have fixed my face, but i still don't want to remove my scar. even though it gets itchy sometimes, i really like it. i particularly like it because it still freaks my mom out and because its fun to draw stuff on. when people ask me about it at parties, i tell them that i am the female version of Tyler Durden and started the female fight club. depending on drunk they are, sometimes they believe me."

~Vivian F.

Concrete Wrestling

"this is a fun little face fuck up from my 21st. i tried to wrestle the concrete and lost..."
~Matt O.

Ponies & Ketchup

"...it isn't that large or freaky looking but it's on my face so i've always been a bit self-conscious about it. i got it in 1st grade when the popular girls asked me to play Ponies with them. i ran out on the playground and slipped on some rocks. then the popular girls told everyone i was faking and had put ketchup all over myself to get attention."

~Mary B.

Introduction

The purpose of this blog is to document people's scars and the stories behind them. Scars are one of the things that make people truly unique, and serve as lasting reminders of chapters of their personal history, be they good or bad.

Once I get my camera working, I will start posting.