Prom, formal, banquet and graduation season is upon us, and this time comes the pressure to find the best dress that will draw everyone's attention. If you are similar to me during my prom season, then you want to have the most original dress there yet are afraid of having too much attention drawn to you in fear of someone noticing some "flaw" on you.
The thought that you have any part of you that needs to be covered for the sake of others is such a lie. The cliche saying, "True beauty comes from within," is an actual fact I came to discover during my teenage girl years, and if you are a Christian, then beauty will radiate from your heart, full of a love for Christ.
I was born with a rare abnormality called Sprengel's Deformity. Sprengel's is a condition where one shoulder blade fails to descend properly during the fetal development, resulting in symptomatic cosmetic and functional disabilities as well as scoliosis.
When I was little, I kind of liked being "different" looking and sort of enjoyed the attention I drew at the pool or church on days where I was wearing a dress, revealing my messed up scapulae. Entering my teenage years, I found myself uncomfortable or embarrassed anytime someone pointed out my "flaw." At age 18, I was looking forward to going to my one and only prom but also sort of dreading it at the same time. I dreamed of going to prom with the dream guy in a limousine, or a pumpkin, and making everyone turn their heads when I walked through the doors arriving fashionably late.
While maybe only one of those dreams came true, the arriving fashionably late part, I still felt the most beautiful I have ever felt before because I decided before I left my house that I was who God made me to be, and there is not a single flaw in me. My special back may cause people to turn their heads and think, "Something looks a little funny about her," or they may even be brave enough to ask me, which happens often when I wear a dress. That night, I was determined to forget all my insecurities and feel confident in my sparkle, gold dress.
My heart breaks when girls say they do not want to wear a certain outfit because it shows some part of them that they do not like: birth mark, "love handles" or whatever it may be. I am just as guilty as every other girl who lacks the confidence to wear something bold, and trust me when I say I know how mean other girls can be. That one single night at prom made a difference in these past two years of my life because I showed off a small part of me I thought was flawed and felt more beautiful than ever. During this prom, formal, banquet and graduation season, I believe every girl should wear her dream dress, free of any negative thoughts about herself in it. Every girl deserves to experience feeling beautiful every day but especially on their special occasion. I did not write this to discuss modesty; all I have to say about that topic is that modest is hottest. I simply wrote this to tell you to wear the dress.
You were made perfect in His image, and for that, you should be proud. Wear the dress and blow away the audience. You are worth more than gold.
Psalms 139:14
"I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made."
