Hey there! My name is Melissa and this is my story...
I'm 28 years old and originally from Salt Lake. I moved to Grand Junction two years ago for my job. Its been quite the challenge financially these last couple years but ive met many great people and friends here.
I saw the advertisement for this contest and thought it was one of the neatest contests ive seen yet! Many people may think a contest like this is odd but for someone like me to win it would mean the world to!
Growing up i always had crooked teeth and when i was 13 years old my parents made the decision to finally get me braces. I first had to have 6 teeth pulled and once because my teeth were way too crowded. Little did we know that they would take 3 YEARS to grow back!! I had to start highschool with missing teeth(really embarrassing) but they eventually grew in. When they did we went back to the orthodontist to take the next step of putting spacers in them to make room. We only had a short time to get them before i turned 18 and i was no longer covered by insurance. My parents definitely had to sacrifice a lot financially to afford them but they knew it was important.
Shortly after the spacers were put in my parents both lost their job the same day and within on hour of each other. To say the least, braces were out of the question, and just keeping food on the table was priority. Its been a struggle for them to maintain jobs over the years and my mom is still unemployed.
I started working when i was 15 to help out and ive had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet ever since. The years have gone by and Ive watched my teeth get worse.
I have a lot of crowding on the bottom teeth which is causing me to have constant gingivitis. My two upper teeth are totally different lengths and the longer one is getting worse, not to mention they are becoming more crooked.
Ive gone to consultations to get braces but the cost is enormous for me to even start to consider it. Ive thought about other cheaper options but unfortunately my problems can only be corrected with braces now.
I constantly find myself noticing other peoples beautiful straight teeth that aren't different lengths or crooked and get so jealous and sad that I can't have the same. It gets harder when you get older because some times you wonder if its just too late. While i don't have the worse teeth in the world, I would do anything to finally get them fixed and the smile that Ive always wanted.
Ive always worked incredibly hard for everything ive ever had and to just keep afloat financially. But when it comes to doing things for my health, braces is one thing ive never seemed to have the money for. It would be an incredible blessing to finally have a smile I love and not be selfconscious of. It would be a life changer for me!
Thanks for letting me share my story! I would love to be an example that your never too late to get a great smile =)
