A few years ago, things didn’t work out with a guy I had feelings for, and I blamed myself for being so stupid. A guy who looked like that would never go for a girl like me. This was real life, not a cheesy teen rom-com. When I told this to some of my closest friends, they were baffled. “You’re pretty enough for any guy out there; you’re beautiful! In fact, you’re too good for him if he doesn’t see how awesome and beautiful you are,” was the main theme of their comments. They really got me thinking, but to this day, I often ask myself if I am pretty enough for certain guys; every guy that I develop a crush on, now that I think about it. That is something I am going to stop asking myself, and you should too! All girls should.
When I think about why I ever started to ask myself this, it is probably because of the “type” of guy I go for. I’ve always gone for the “pretty” boys; it was obvious when I developed a crush on Zac Efron (#mcm forever) after watching “High School Musical” for the first time when I was eleven, and ten years later at 21, it is shown in the guys I find attractive. Because I am usually attracted to guys a lot of girls find attractive, I find myself comparing myself to other girls, and nothing good can come with comparing yourself to other girls. When I do that, I feel horrible about myself. When I do that, I’m always the ugly one.
After years of bringing myself down for no good reason, I have come to terms with the truth: I am beautiful on the inside and outside. I have a few physical features that I adore about myself, for instance, I love my blue eyes. Whenever I hear a country song with a guy singing about a pretty blue-eyed girl, I can’t help but smile and pretend he’s talking about me (oh, hey Luke Bryan!).
As I look at myself, I notice there are two things about my physical appearance that I would say aren’t deemed “beautiful” by guys my age. They are that I can lay out in the sun all day and not tan, only burn, and that no matter how many squats I do, my butt is flatter than a pancake. I have come to the realization that not everyone is perfect, and every girl has insecurities. The most beautiful girls in the world feel insecure. Taylor Hill (pictured above in headline photo), 19-year-old supermodel and Victoria’s Secret Angel, has insecurities. When she was asked to give advice to young girls looking up to her in a Teen Vogue interview, she said “I would say that anything is possible, because I didn't always think that I was beautiful and I didn't always believe in myself, and I think it's so important to have self-confidence and always remember who you are. No matter what people tell you, it's always about what you think of yourself in the end.”
Confidence is sexy and beautiful, and comparing yourself to other girls and asking yourself if you are pretty enough for a guy are not confident traits. You ARE pretty enough for him, in fact, the real question should be if he’s good enough for you. There is so much more to attraction and relationships than physical looks; character matters, and having good character is attractive. If I met Ryan Gosling and he turned out to be a total jerk, the level of attraction would go down immensely. Same thing for guys, if they discover a really pretty girl is a total bitch. Be kind, smile, laugh, and most importantly, BE YOURSELF when you’re around a guy you like.
You are beautiful, and shouldn’t be asking if you are pretty enough for him, so take the vow with me to stop this self-hatred! The real question we should be asking is if a guy is amazing enough to let into our lives.
