My entire life I have strived to be pretty. From an early age, I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. I disliked my body type, couldn't stand my fair skin and absolutely hated my unruly curly hair. It didn't help I had some super cute friends and beautiful cousins, especially one only a year younger than me. I remember being just 9 or 10 and thinking I was utterly ugly.
Looking back, I can't believe I was so young and worrying that much about my looks.
I was jealous of my younger sister because looks never seemed to bother her when we were younger. She didn't care if she was pretty or not. As long as she was playing outside she didn't have a care in the world. However, I just wasn't born with that mentality and continued to feel I couldn't be a happy kid unless I was considered beautiful.
Being a kid and thinking you're unattractive is one thing, but being in high school and not being confident in your looks is a whole other ordeal.
In 2015, the beauty brand Dove sought out to see how many women truly believe they are beautiful with their Choose Beautiful Campaign. While in recent years there have been more and more self-love campaigns, it turns out positive messages can't always change a decade or so if one battles with their image. According to Women's Health, the campaign surveyed 6,400 women in five cities worldwide. Fortunately, 80 percent of these women claimed they believe every woman has something beautiful about them, but 96 percent stated 'beautiful' is not how they would describe themselves.
In my eyes, this is absolutely tragic. It is so upsetting to hear we live in a world where so many women will be the first to admit everyone has something beautiful about them but refuse to see their own beauty. No matter how sad this is to hear I even have to admit I agree with what these women said. I give all of my support in the world to women. I am absolutely fascinated with women. I'm fascinated by their strength, work ethic, style, and beauty. I would like to say I really do try to find something beautiful in each and every woman I meet. I can't promise I always do, but I truly like to think I try.
It's 2019 and it is the year of self-love. As the world is becoming a little more accepting in terms of body sizes, we still have such a long way to go.
I wish I could say one day everyone will be 100 percent accepting and nobody will feel insecure when it comes to their bodies, but that simply isn't true.
I wish I could say there'd be a day when nobody was ever put down for their body type.
I wish I could say one-day looks won't matter and what is on the inside really will be the only thing that counts.
Unfortunately, I can't predict the future and most likely none of this will ever be 100 percent true. What I DO know is whoever is reading this, I know you are putting way too much pressure on yourself and on your looks. It wasn't until about a year ago I really began to feel beautiful in my own skin. I'm not saying I'm this hot Victoria's Secret model or the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. What I'm saying is once you realize the beauty within you and on the outside life is so much more enjoyable. You're not going to feel beautiful all of the time, that is just unrealistic.
However, feeling beautiful on some days is so much better than never feeling beautiful at all.
