I spent the majority of my teenage years hating myself. I was extremely insecure about my body because I didn’t look like the other girls. I couldn’t stand parts of my personality that I thought needed fixing. I even hated my Southern accent because of how often people would point it out to me, almost in a manner in which I thought they were teasing me, so I would attempt to hide it when I was in school. I had no idea how to do my makeup and didn’t dress up or wear all of the cute clothes that other girls were dressing in. I was awkward and always laughing too much. Guys were always less than interested in me, so I never really went out on dates. I knew too much about sports, wasn’t afraid to stand my ground or speak up when I didn’t appreciate something and I guess that was just intimidating to them. Girls aren’t supposed to act like that, or so I thought.
College, and the last few years of my life in general, changed me for the better. Going through some of the things that I have experienced really put things in perspective for me. I began understanding what was really important to me and what didn’t matter so much. Keeping my head up and staying confident became more important to me than being viewed as beautiful by society’s standards. I realized that I don’t have to be beautiful like those other girls. I can be beautiful like me because beauty isn’t comparison. I didn’t want to be cliché and say how everyone is beautiful in their own way, but there is so much truth to that statement that many people continue to miss.
Beauty is confidence. It is finally pulling that old dress out of your closet that you haven’t worn even though you’ve had it for over two years and wearing it. It is feeling comfortable in your skin. It is looking into the mirror and noticing first everything that you like about yourself rather than what you consider to be your flaws. It is embracing your body without judging or hating others for theirs. Beauty is being kind to yourself and to others. It is wearing your heart on your sleeve in a world that constantly shreds it to pieces. It is embracing your awkwardness and laughing at yourself when you inevitably fall up the stairs, or fall down into that giant puddle you were trying to avoid so skillfully, instead of being embarrassed and worrying about whether or not anyone saw you. It is embracing your background and your past, all while looking forward to your future and enjoying your present.
Beauty is passion. It is not being afraid to put all of yourself out there and not being afraid to give everything you have to something you care deeply about. It is shredding to pieces the idea that it isn’t cool to care about something so much. Beauty is having a big heart and caring too much. It’s the way that your eyes light up when you talk about that person or that activity that you love. It is screaming the lyrics to your favorite songs when you’re driving around town in your car or at the concert of your favorite band. It is laughing too loudly at something that wasn’t even that funny in the first place. It is laughing too loudly at something that was.
Beauty is being on full blast and not caring what anyone else thinks because beauty is about what makes you happy. Beauty is happiness. Beauty is being yourself. Beauty is you, and never let anyone lead you to believe differently.
