Midnight Is the Darkest Hour

by Ashley Winstead

“You know what, Dad? Let’s say deep down, I am still a teenage girl. I think you want me to feel bad about that because you have a teenage girl inside you, too, and you’re embarrassed. Everything you hate—my hunger, my softness, my need—you can’t look me without seeing those parts of yourself, and you’re terrified they make you weak. But I know they’re strengths. I’m choosing to be proud. Which means you can’t control me anymore.”