From the moment girls enter into their pre-teen years, they start becoming embarrassed because of you. All of their lives they grow up thinking that they have to meet your standards. They don't fit in with the other girls because they are ashamed and self-conscious of their bodies. But society has this image of you that has washed away your uniqueness. Pretty doesn't mean having a thin waistline. It doesn't mean having the perfect nose or perfect teeth. Pretty doesn't mean despising yourself because you don't look like the girl next to you or because someone will never love you. Girls shouldn't have to try any harder to be you because they naturally are you. Girls are taught that "thick" and "big" doesn't mean pretty. They think that they have to follow all of these exercises and models on covers of magazines with flat stomachs and firm butts. They define a thigh gap by if they have nice legs or not. They think they have to spend an extra amount of time at the mall getting designer clothes and shoes, or perhaps even spend extra time in the morning masking their face with makeup because their pretty doesn't match up to the type of pretty society defines you as. The truth is, girls can't stand you. They hinder themselves because of you.
They think that if boys aren't after them they are worthless. They think that if a picture of themselves doesn't look "pretty enough" they aren't photogenic. But why does the idea of you have to define them? They try so hard to be you that they forget who they are and the qualities that they themselves have to offer in this life that is far too short. They forget how beautiful they look when they smile and their eyes light up. They forget about their talents, their goals, their creativity. They forget how cute their laugh is even if they snort. They forget that there is so much more than diet pills and frizz-free hair. Girls shouldn't doubt and undervalue themselves to prove that they are pretty to you. You are a facade that disguises a girl's transparent beauty.
Stop getting in the way of a girl's appearance and start giving yourself the reputation that you come in all shapes and sizes. There are so many misconceptions about you that is making beauty a competition rather than an embracement. We need to stop being fed our own flaws and shunned by a society that diminishes our confidence because of a word like you. We shouldn't forget who we are or feel ashamed because of a mirror who reminds us of our reflection. We are so much more than paper-fine flesh, vibrant teeth and fingernails. We are taught to feel not good enough but we must fill that void with self-love and not with the idea that we have to be attractive and loved by others in order to be "pretty." Girls, you are worth so much more than you know--you are worth your thoughts and your dreams because that is something you will ultimately still have when your physical body becomes worn out and tattered. Stop believing what people tell you when they put you down. Sometimes we forget that because we live in a world that nurtures us to believe that "pretty" is skinny and flawless. There is so much more to people than just their appearances.
