As some may know, I participated in something called No Makeup November several months ago. If you haven't read that article, feel free to take a minute and read it (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/nomakeup-november). But if not I will do a very vague recap. I spent one month vowing not to use makeup or filters in order to find myself and understand my true beauty. Along with that I used my movement to support awareness on sex slavery. My experiences were positive and negative but overall I am very thankful that I participated.

I have always been a person uncomfortable with the person staring back at me. Perhaps it was the years of bullying or maybe it's just the pressure that society puts on me as a female. So a month without makeup and my beloved Instagram filters was scary to say the least. However, my vow had gone public and there was no turning back and I knew the least that could happen was a cleaner and healthier face.

The next few weeks were interesting to say the least. I am very thankful for the people that I have surrounded myself with. My family, friends, and boyfriend were extremely supportive and I am honestly so humbled by their response. They filled my days with lots of love and made me feel truly beautiful despite not wearing makeup. However, at school I was faced with more hardships. I remember one day in particular there was a girl who often sat next to me in my class. One day she finally leaned over to me and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine and asked her why she had asked worrying that maybe I looked feverish or had something smeared across my face. Her response got me thinking: she told me I just looked sick, pale, and not like myself. I started to wonder what she was trying to tell me. Was she genuinely concerned that I was actually ill? And what did she mean that I didn't look like myself? I was still the exact same person I was days prior to my no makeup vow yet to her I was known by the makeup I previously plastered on my face?

Similar comments were thrown around as the days ticked on. However, with every day I grew stronger and stronger. My eye lashes became fuller, my acne cleaned up, the stress I felt getting ready in the morning was fading, and the natural beauty that was a part of my face before I hid it with makeup was coming back. I was happier, healthier, getting more sleep, and just feeling more confident in who I was. The final day I posted a picture on Facebook of my beautiful new look. That picture is the same picture I used at the top of this article.

I am so much happier now and I am perfectly okay going without makeup. I love playing around with it some days, however I don't feel the need I once did waking up in the morning. I am less judgmental of the image staring back at me in the morning. For something I started out supporting for raising awareness on sex slavery, it did so much more for me personally and I am so thankful I accepted the challenge.

However, there is one message I want people to get from my experience: we are all naturally beautiful in our own way. If you are someone that talks down to someone because they aren't your definition of beautiful, you are the problem with this world. You have no right to tell someone that they are not beautiful, are ugly, are pale, or anything in between. You have no right to be hateful and unkind to someone. You have no right to make someone feel terrible about themselves and the way they look. You have no right to belittle someone to nothing. We are all beautiful, special, and amazing in our own way naturally. Makeup is a mask that women feel they need to wear and that should not be the case.

I highly suggest you follow and try this movement. Continue attempting this for any month, not just in November. Continue finding your true beauty and bringing to light the startling facts of sex slavery. Continue using the hashtag #nomakeupnovember and just learn to be yourself because being your natural, beautiful self is what we should be doing.