Day 11 - Identity Crisis

I wondered if this would happen. I've wondered for months and now, I know the answer - yes, I am going to have an identity crisis after my surgery. However, I don't think it is playing out exactly as most would expect.
It isn't the actual face itself that is throwing me. I always knew that I didn't have a stereotypically pretty smile. That said, I was okay with it. I was comfortable in my own skin, wonky smile and all. The smile I pictured in my head was more reflective of my soul, I guess and perhaps "prettier" than my real one, so seeing the "pretty" smile in the mirror isn't even that shocking or troubling. I guess this is the smile I've always had on the inside.
The trouble comes in exactly the form that I knew it would - I can't seem to amalgamate what I've done to my face and my belief that we should not alter ourselves to fit society's standards.
It is well known among my family and friends that I didn't choose this surgery for the aesthetic improvements, but rather because my bite needed to be altered in order to be functional and remain so long-term. That said, not everyone knows that and it is beginning to seem that the aesthetic change is going to be so dramatic that it will overshadow everything else (because really, for those not using my mouth, it is the most significant outcome of this surgery). I am struggling to figure out how I am going to continue sending the message to my students and children that they love themselves as they are when I obviously (to an outsider) don't practice what I preach. I feel a bit like a sell-out, a fraud - I would *never* make this sort of change only to improve my looks, but if I brought that up every time someone commented on how great I look now, it would start to get the feeling of "the lady doth protest too much." I honestly don't know what to do anymore, but I can tell you with certainty that the sheen is starting to wear off this particular side-effect of having this surgery really quickly :(
Today's photos: