"We Are Ugly, But We Are Here"

I really enjoyed the essay "We Are Ugly, But We Are Here" by Edwidge Danticat.  The essay explored the role of women in Haiti while Danticat was still living there, along with the time after.  The women were battered and abused like everyone in Haiti at the time. One woman was even shot for wearing a t-shirt that was decorated with an "antimilitary image."  The women of Haiti used the saying "I am ugly, but I am here" often to describe how they were on any given day.  I love the saying because to me it means that the women can see through their abuse and scars; they are grateful that they are still alive.  They understand that they could easily dead so they embrace their imperfections because they have a second chance to live.