Feel Good. Be Yourself!

Every place we look in the media women are portrayed as thin and sexy. But when you look around in the real world how many women like that do you really see? Make up on and dressed to the nines while they shop at the grocery store or drop kids off at school? When you look in magazines, even the most beautiful pictures of many women/celebrities are “airbrushed” to remove every imperfection, including weight. We are not seeing “real” women, we are seeing illusions or artistic creations. Perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect shape…every detail accounted for and fixed. And that is not taking into account any plastic surgery they may have had. We can’t look to these ideal representations as something to aspire to. In reality, these celebrities do not even look like their own pictures. If we pass them on the street, we might not even recognize them without their daily makeovers.

So what is my point? I think we are real women in every sense of the word, and we are beautiful from head to toe. But, we are made to feel less than and insecure because of our culture. I wonder how many of us actually look better than those celebrities if they were stripped down to their natural selves? I think we would be surprised.

I hear so many every day women online say they aren’t happy with their weight, their looks, their hair and yet when I see their pictures I think they are beautiful. I am perplexed as to why so many of us think we need improving? We don’t. Most people can stand to lose a few pounds, but being a little overweight doesn’t diminish our beauty or change who we are. It might affect our health or self image, and if so we can remedy that. But basically I think we should be happy with who we are. I have always been content with myself. I am no raving beauty, never was even in my best days. But whenever I have looked in the mirror, I was always happy with the person looking back at me. Real beauty should not be defined by what is on the outside, but by what is on the inside. We have heard that a million times, but we don’t take it to heart. We should. We need to.

When I was younger, I always wanted straight hair. My hair has a natural wave and curl to it. I would have to undergo expensive chemical treatments to straighten it and it’s not worth it. Instead, I look for hairstyles that compliment the kind of hair I have. I have accepted that I will never have straight hair and I might not even look better with straight hair. I have adopted the “natural” is the way to go approach to looks, not just for me, but for everyone. We should embrace our natural beauty, not seek ways to change it so we fit some “ideal” image.

Be yourself inside and out! Feel good about who you are. Let the people who love you be your mirror, they reflect back to you all you are to them. We can see our beauty in and through their eyes. There is where you will see the “real” you.