"Her"

Chipped

"Is this the way things are supposed to be? Am I supposed to be trapped?" the young woman asked 'Her'.

I can't answer that for you. You should already know the answer.

"Huh. The only thing I know is that I'm wasting my time. It'll be eight years this June." the young woman was moody, maybe even depressed.

You finished some of it. You tried.

"You're damn right I tried. Busted my ass for a little piece of it. And then, woosh! Nothing." The young woman would have lit up a black and mild, but there was no point. Tobacco and nicotine couldn't calm her down, or at least mask her anxiety.

You gave it your all. What more could you expect of yourself?

"Maybe I should push myself until I break. It's my life's work you know." The young woman would have gotten some vodka from her friend, but it would have made no difference. Alcohol had no effect. It was the same as drinking cider to her.

Breaking is dangerous. You can glue a cup back together, but there will always be little pieces of glass that are too small to be glued back. And of course, water leaks out of a glued together glass. It's useless.

The young woman cried then. Cried and let the fear and the pain and the confusion and hatred leak out of her. "That's how I feel. I feel like a cup that keeps getting dropped and glued back together! Dropped and glued back together!" She stopped crying. "I guess I should just stop fighting. I should stop wasting my time."

Can I ask what good was the fight if you just lay down?

"For nothing. None of it would matter. But what good am I like this? I may not be broken, but I've gotta be chipped somewhere."

Who isn't chipped? Some are able to hide their chipped bottoms, others turn to hide what's left of their handle, and some use bravado to hide what would be an obvious chip on their lip.

"What are you saying? You lost me."

'She' sighed. You can't just throw yourself away because of your imperfection. The one flaw that keeps you just out of reach of perfection is also what makes you who you are.