u/iam_adumbass

So my school surprisingly has a bunch of students with selective mutism. They're all different. Some completely don't talk. Some make facial expressions and nod. Some can whisper in a super quiet voice. I usually always talk to them even though they can't respond. In the hallway just now one of my students was walking with another girl who I didn't realize was mute also until I started talking to them. She seemed really nervous. My student seemed fine (I know that this is an anxiety disorder but she seems comfortable with me). The other girl just kept bowing (I'm located in Asia) and covering her face as I spoke to them in my typical cheerful voice. But now I'm not sure if that was okay.

Every time I look in the mirror, I see a grandma. I think I look incredibly old for my age and I just turned 33 a couple days ago. Today someone asked me how old I was and when I answered they acted shocked. One girl said I looked 10 years younger. Also, I was never diagnosed but I may or may not have body dysmorphic disorder so maybe what I see doesn't exist or isn't as bad as I'm seeing it??? but idk because what I see feels real and I feel like everyone sees me that way. I just got potenza and skin boosters 7 weeks ago and considering getting oligio and shurink universe in a couple months (because I can't afford ultherapy and thermage lol) because I feel like my face is melting (and can't afford a face lift). I don't get how people could think I look younger when my face is saggy and I have severely deep nasolabial folds and fine lines on my forehead.

So I wanted to get an Aladin peel for the hyperpigmentation on my back that refuses to go away, even though my back never sees sunlight, but I'm on a budget. Because of that, I started using The Ordinary 7% glycolic acid on my back after every shower. It hasn't been that long though, maybe only a week or two.

I was also thinking about incorporating some kind of spicule product since the Aladin peel is a spicule peel, but I'm not sure if spicules and glycolic acid can be used together. Basically, I want to do a slower at-home version instead of one super strong in-clinic peel. Slow as in lower strength and done consistently over several months.

I would like to keep using the glycolic acid since I already bought it, so if combining it with spicules isn't recommended, I'll probably just skip the spicules altogether.

I've had pretty horrible skin since I was 11, and I'm turning 33 next week. It started with severe acne when I got my first period, and it covered every inch of my face. That left me with atrophic scarring.

In my early twenties, I moved to a country known for skincare and have had a lot of treatments. Some helped make the scarring less deep, like Fraxel, but it's honestly so painful even with numbing, so I only did it twice.

Recently, I got really motivated to take better care of my skin because I wanted to feel more attractive for someone. I've been much more consistent with my routine because of that. I also got Potenza and followed the post-procedure routine carefully. It's been 6 weeks now, and I just added my AHA toner back in because I wanted to make sure I healed properly. I'll be adding back in my retinol later.

I've also struggled with skin picking since I was 11, not just on my face but my body too. Lately I've been more motivated, so I haven't been picking, and I can actually see some of my hyperpigmentation fading since I'm not constantly reopening the wounds.

But I still hate how my skin looks. The hyperpigmentation isn't gone, my skin tone is uneven, and I don't know if it will ever be even. My body skin isn't even either, so it makes me feel like my face won't be either. I've been trying to work on that too by using salicylic acid on my legs for what I believe is KP and glycolic acid on my back and arms for the hyperpigmentation caused by skin picking. I've also been consistent with lotion after every shower even though I used to rarely do that before.

I just don't know if all of this is worth it. When I look in the mirror, I feel disappointed. I want smooth, clear skin. My acne isn't as bad as it was when I was young, but I still get breakouts sometimes. Even with double cleansing, my nose pores still look large and the sebaceous filaments look dark, and my skin texture just looks bad overall. Maybe it's the scarring, I don't know.

How do you stay motivated when you feel like your skin will never look the way you want?

From day one when I bought my Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 (not the Pros because those in-ear ones irritate my ears and I can’t handle it), they were faulty. They always had issues, literally from the beginning. Right now my left bud does not make any noise. Like, literally no sound comes from it. And no, it’s not earwax.

This actually happened before when I still had warranty, and it was also the left bud that time. I went to the Samsung service center and they replaced the left bud for free. I’ve also had other issues like charging problems. It’s very annoying. Sometimes the left one would charge and the right one wouldn’t, or the right one would charge and the left one wouldn’t. Or if the right one was charging, once I put the left one in, the right one would stop charging and the left one would start. It’s so annoying.

Anyway, I’m debating going to the Samsung service center again, but I don’t have a warranty anymore. I don’t have that much money, so I’m not sure if I should try to get them replaced for a fee or just buy brand new Galaxy Buds 4. What would you do if you also didn't have that much money? I can technically afford it but I wanted to save that money for more important things...