“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”

-Dr. Steve Maraboli

I am blessed to call Indian Trails Camp my home this summer. Here at camp, we have a saying: modest is hottest. The wardrobe of a camp counselor is probably one of the most noticeable things. With our naturally frizzy hair, awkwardly long shorts and assortment of t-shirts, we are sure to stand out when in “the real world”. “The real world” is any place outside of camp, where wearing a bandana around your neck and having a face covered in war paint isn’t acceptable. But inside camp, anything goes, as long as it’s modest.

For two months, we wear nothing but athletic shorts, bro tanks, t-shirts and bandanas. We don’t touch makeup or use straighteners, and we’re lucky if we have the time to shower twice a week. We roll out of bed and sometimes don’t even have the energy to change out of our pajamas. That’s camp. It’s the greasy hair, dirty feet and farmers’ tans that make us who we are. But at camp this is all normal; in fact if you don’t rock those camp clothes, then you’re the one who looks strange.

We live in a world where makeup and cute clothes are necessities to feel pretty. We wake up hours before we leave for class just so we can straighten our naturally curly hair and cover our blemishes with bronzer. We need these products and clothes to make us feel like we are good enough. But when you leave this “real world”, when you enter the world of being a camp counselor, everything changes.

For the first time in my life, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m confident even without makeup and skinny jeans. It was hard for the first few weeks. I avoided mirrors and constantly felt like people were staring at me because my hair looked like a birds nest. But the longer I spent without these things that I thought I needed, the more beautiful I thought I was. I wear shorts that are fingertip length and shoes with weird straps all over them. But it doesn’t make me feel any less beautiful. I’ve finally realized that this is true beauty. It’s the ability to feel gorgeous without the makeup on.

This is what happens when you are blessed with the opportunity to be a camp counselor for a summer. The rugged outfits and lack of showers will make you realize that you are so much more than the mascara and straight hair. You’ll realize that people do like you for your personality, and not just for your looks. Modest really is hottest because it makes you realize that your beauty isn’t defined by the clothes you wear or how much makeup you can put on. The most beautiful person is one who believes she is beautiful in her own skin.