When I was little, my mother always told me that "beauty is pain."
Does it really have to be?
When I was a teenager, all my friends started dieting. Are 12 year olds really supposed to be going on juice cleanses?
Now that I'm nearing adulthood, I see that so many beauty habits that girls worship get worse and worse. And our self esteem? It plummets.
It's time to reconsider our actions towards ourselves, our image and our body.It's time to feel beautiful without feeling inadequate on the journey to get there.
Here are 12 things all girls need to quit doing, like yesterday:
1. Sucking in your stomach for photos.
I know. I know. It works like a charm. But it subconsciously makes you feel like you're too fat to look good in a photo. You are allowing yourself to think that without doing so, you can never look good. NOT TRUE! <3
2. Dieting vigorously before major events.
So unhealthy! Weight should be lost overtime, not shed in the span of a week thanks to starvation. Find a dress and outfit you feel beautiful in regardless if you allow yourself to eat dinner or not (which you definitely should!)
3. Checking the mirror for flaws
Admit it. The first thing you do when you look in the mirror is criticize yourself. Stahpp!! Look at that face! It's BEAUTIFUL and deserves nothing but your love.
4. Judging other girls before even getting to know them.
We girls have to stick together, but for some reason, we like to envy each other, gossip about each other, judge each other or just wish that the other girl wasn't "prettier" than you or "smarter" than you. As females, we are already fighting the battle to be equals and empowered by society. So empower the girls in your life! Don't look at another girl and think of the five different ways she should have worn her make up or call her slutty for wearing what she feels good in.
5. Obsessing over your outfit and changing it five times and over again.
We need to stop obsessing with looking like a model every chance we get. The point of going out is to have fun with your friends and enjoy a good night! When we scream and thrash around that there's nothing to wear, there's now nothing to really look forward to because you'll be in a rush, upset, and at that point, you don't think anything looks good on you. Which isn't true!
6. Letting guys define your worth.
So many girls I meet base their worth off how many guys they've had or what their boyfriend thinks or how a date goes. Don't ever do this because the true self-worth comes in loving, respecting, and cherishing who you are... and the fact that no one out there can ever take that power away from you.
7. Buying more product than you need.
Count your lip glosses. Does your nail polish go bad before you even got to use more than half the bottle? Did you buy a $90 contour brush when you have plenty others? Maybe rethink how much your spending on makeup.
8. Thinking you don't look good without makeup.
If anything, makeup is there if you want to have fun and touch yourself up. But don't begin to believe the lie that you need it to be beautiful. It's simply industry marketing wanting you to feel this way. Don't let them win.
9. Saying you can keep a secret when you can't.
Many of us share and spill our inner thoughts but always ask the person we're telling, "You won't tell anyone? Promise?"
We all say yes we promise and then are quick to break it. For your own morality and for the respect of the person you're talking to, stop lying!
10. Asking for "likes."
Okay, so I had to put this one in here. What's the point of asking for likes? Defeats their purpose and only makes you look desperate.
11. Being someone you're not to fit in.
A lot of girls get hate for being fake. And although guys can be just as fake, a lot of girls just care about their image. But being yourself should be the only image you're after...because authenticity and sincerity will have people liking you for you; you won't constantly feel like you're suffocating in a mask if you just be the you that you were born to be.
12. Pretending you're OK when you're not, because everyone else seems OK.
At the end of the day, life can suck sometimes. Scroll through any person's Insta, and it seems that "life's a beach" or that the only problem is when we're missing someone just "a little extra" today. It's not true. So break this habit because you're not alone. Ask for help. It takes strength and character to do that. Be human. Be real.