Despite the beautiful chaos that this summer has brought, the most incredible thing has been the amount of growth and change it has spurred in me in such a short period of time. I have been challenged and stretched in countless ways by incredible communities and peers -- in my faith, my leadership abilities and even in how I view myself.

Somewhere along the way in my summer adventures, my confidence began to blossom in a new way. For one of the first times in my life, I felt completely understood and loved for who I am by fellow staff members or volunteers, some of whom were complete strangers a matter of days earlier. As I began to feel comfortable with them, I also started feeling more secure about wearing less makeup. It started out slowly, applying less foundation one day or no eye shadow the next, but by the final day with these new friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, I was completely fresh-faced and bared my imperfections for all to see.

And you know what? Despite my initial anxiety and insecurity of revealing my flaws, nobody treated me any differently.

Beyond that, I felt happy. I felt comfortable. It was amazing.

You see, I've always been pretty girly; I've loved shopping for clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for about as long as I can remember. I started wearing makeup every day in seventh grade. My face had begun to breakout and I had several insecurities about my appearance that were huge blows to my confidence. To me, discovering makeup was huge. It felt like there was maybe potential to make me feel pretty by masking all of the ugliness and flaws that I saw in myself.

This continued on throughout middle school, high school, and even my first two years of college. It became second nature to me - wake up and cover up all your flaws in makeup. Subconsciously, I bought into the lie that so many girls believe that you have to look a certain way if you want people to like you. And it was all based on a perception of myself that had started years earlier.

I can tell you one thing though, this new comfort in my own skin has been so freeing. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm about to throw away all of my makeup and never wear a drop for the rest of my life. Just because I am starting to feel confident in my own skin more doesn't mean I hate makeup. Far from it; I still love makeup. The girly girl in me hasn't disappeared; I still love dressing up and playing around with cosmetics. Do I think makeup is bad now that I wear it less? Absolutely not. There are some days where I wear it, and some where I don't. I'm still transitioning into this and I'm figuring out how I feel most happy - and some days that looks like wearing makeup.

However, I have learned so much about myself and how to take on my insecurities head on. As I am finding myself in God, I am striving to be less critical of myself as He made me. And honestly? It feels great. 10/10 would recommend to all girls to reflect on.