I have never been much of a girly girl. I like to dress up and look nice. I love to go shopping and pick out nice jewelry. I enjoy getting dressed up and looking good for no one other than myself.

But never have I gone to the store to pick up makeup. Never have I picked out the right color of foundation to match my skin, and I wouldn't know the first thing about which mascara is the best. And never once would you catch me looking at eye shadow color. The kind of brushes I have always preferred to use are the ones applied to canvas rather than skin.

There have been the rare occasions where I have worn makeup: my sisters' weddings, school banquets, other such functions, and the times where my friends forced the stuff on me. I have tolerated it on these occasions; I can handle makeup for small amounts of time where I can be distracted by other things. I just couldn't ever do it all day everyday.

Now, I don't think down on those who do know their makeup. I don't judge those who put it on every day. In fact, I can appreciate good makeup when I see it. I even sometimes wish that I could do what some girls can do with eyeliner.

But I've never gotten into makeup, and there are a few reasons why.

For one, my mom never wore much makeup, and I guess I took after her. My oldest sister Katie did, but I am eight years younger than her. She didn't want her little sister messing around with her makeup, and she wasn't about to show me how to do it.

I don't even remember what kinds or makeup she even owned, or how much she used. I just knew that I wasn't allowed to use it. So, because my sister didn't offer much in that area, I looked to what my mother did. I noticed she didn't wear much in the way of makeup, and she could go out of the house with full confidence. So that is where I learned that I could go out and be perfectly fine without makeup.

Something I realized later is that my other sister, Jill, who is five years older than me, and closest to me in age, also didn't wear makeup. I guess I never noticed just because she was the sister I did more things with, and Katie, the oldest, was the one who I never knew exactly what she got up to, but I always wanted to know, and that was why I got in her stuff more than Jill's.

Now, fully knowing that Jill never wore makeup throughout high school, I can see even more how I could go confidently without having to color my face.

Then there's the fact that when I did try makeup, (sneaking into the bathroom and using my sisters' of course) I hated the way it felt on my skin. I couldn't stand it. Mascara felt so heavy on my eyes. I was terrified that I was going to smear it all across my face with one wipe of my eyes. I needed to wash the blush off my face right away. There was just something about it that I couldn't stand. It was the same with anything that went on my lips. To this day I don't even wear chapstick. I don't know if it's that I have sensitive skin, or if I just think about it too much. I just can't do makeup.

There is another mental aspect to why I don't wear makeup. I like to think about myself as an independent person. So, usually I don't like to be dependent on anything. The idea that, if I started wearing makeup, I wouldn't be able to leave the house without it did not appeal to me in any way.

I don't look down on those who do have this mindset, but I do wish they would see that beauty does not depend on the amount of effort you spend on your makeup that morning.

I understand how some girls like the way that makeup enhances their natural beauty, and I can appreciate that. I don't want anyone to think that I am completely against makeup. My aversion to makeup is entirely personal, and only applies to me. It's my issue that I don't want makeup to feel confident.

If putting on makeup every morning allows you to face the day with more confidence, than do it! For me, I don't want that kind of reliance on something. I've had friends ask me why I don't wear makeup. They might think that I see it as unnecessary and stupid. I don't.

I can see the beauty that it creates for women, how it enhances them. And they've even used that argument to try and get me to buy makeup: it's something that will enhance the beauty you already have, and I believe that.

I have worn makeup to do that, as I said before, for the special occasions of my life. It's just not something that I would want to do every day. The kind of confidence I like to have in myself is the kind I can wake up with. Not the kind I have to apply in the mirror.

That's my choice. I'm not telling you to make the same one. Make the choice that makes you confident.