we live on a stage, constantly watched by an audience

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

As You Like it Act 2, scene 7, William Shakespeare 

Eyes lined with eyeliner, long eyelashes coated in mascara, hair styled perfectly. painted fingernails, a starving body, mind overwhelmed. A thousand details coming together to form one perfect image. An image that looks effortless, in reality, taking hours of work and effort backstage. Because we're all actresses and actors on a stage. We create an illusion of perfection for our audience, because perfection is expected. No mistakes or errors. Memorized lines and forced emotions. Gorgeous costumes, with gorgeous bodies to match. We let them believe we're flawless, because we want to believe that too. And when the fragile illusion breaks, chaos, desperation, ugliness, anger, fear, hurt, secrets and tears will spill out. 

Thank you very much for the comments on the last post! You guys are absolutely amazing. <3