The Final Hurdle

As I am slowly dragged towards my 21st birthday (kicking and screaming), I have one more rite of passage to go through as a teenager - the acne breakout. I know some will argue that 20 years old is hardly a "teenager" anymore, but since the Malaysian government considers 21 to be the legal age of an adult, I'll stick with the label "teenager", thank you.

I didn't have much of an acne problem during puberty, but it seems the pimples have caught up with me. Since the beginning of this year, I have had endless outbreaks around my cheeks. They don't come all at once (thankfully), but they do break out one after the other. It is certainly traumatic because I have always had pretty good skin. I use facial cleansers very regularly to keep it oil-free, but they still keep on coming even if I try not to pinch it.

I have no idea why this is happening, but I am praying beyond hope that it is caused by stress. This year has certainly been full of pressure to perform in my final semesters and I really, REALLY, hope that my skin will clear up after I finish. I certainly don't feel the need to propagate the stereotype of pimply-faced IT geeks.