From the time that I learned to recognize my refelection in a mirror I also began to recognize the fifty shades of gray and blue that formed under my big blue eyes. As I got older, it seemed those shadows only became more prominent. As a child, I was teased and as an adult I was asked if I was doing okay. Did I get enough sleep last night? Was I sick?
No I’m not sick and yes I got enough sleep last night. Okay that second statement was a lie, I work two jobs and also am a college student. But my point is, my under eye circles are not a sign that I’m lacking: they’re a sing of gaining.
In my twenty years of life, I have seen and experienced many things through these ocean blue eyes and I have lived some of the greatest moments in my life. I have been blessed to be a part of things that are bigger than myself. My under eye circles are merely a side effect of the many experiences I’ve gained.
They are the countless nights I’ve stayed up far too late because I was having so much fun with my friends that I didn’t dare fall asleep and let the night end. The mornings I awoke at five a.m. and started my day with a run through the country, just me and nature, basking in the light of the sunrise. My under eye shadows have captured and absorbed fallen tears from laughing so hard, and they’ve been enhanced by the mascara smudges those tears have left behind.
I spent far too many years of my life desperately trying to conceal my circles when in reality, it’s a feature I so desperately needed to embrace. It’s aa part of me and it tells a story. It’s kind of like wrinkles, they’re seen by society as something you should be trying to fix when in reality they carry the memories of all the times you’ve smiled and laughed, all of the times you’ve been surrounded by warm sunlight to the point of having to squint your eyes. My under eye shadows are the same thing.
I will forever embrace this flaw of mine and I encourage you to do the same. Your lack of sleep is symbol of your gain in memories and moments where being asleep wasn’t your best option or perhaps not an option at all. I’ve found beauty in something that society has told me to conceal and I will forever skip the under eye concealer in my daily makeup routine.
