Absolutely adorable YouTuber Dodie Clark uploaded a an original song onto her channel (doddleoddle) about two years ago called “Paint.” It’s a nice little diddy with the chorus going something like this: “Am I hiding/or is this just me/am I not allowed to be who I want to be/it makes me feel better/'cause pretty I ain’t/what’s wrong with a little bit of paint?” It brings up an interesting concept, especially since most of the last 10 years have been spent promoting the idea that girls should go barefaced most days in a stand against society’s definition of beauty. What Clark was getting at, as she explains in the outro of her video, is that while most people are coming from a place of passion for inner beauty, they have ended up shaming outer beauty. She was claiming that there is nothing wrong with a girl who maybe isn't feeling particularly comfortable in her skin that day to put on a bit of blush or mascara and then feel better because of that. And I happen to agree with her.

Society at large has done a spectacular job of destroying the idea of self-image. At first, it told women that if they weren’t skinny and men (yes, gentlemen, do not fret, I didn’t forget about you and how the society has screwed you over too) that if they weren’t buff they were worthless and ugly. Now it’s saying if you wear makeup or are a gym rat, you’re a self-absorbed narcissist that only cares about how you look. C’mon now, make up your mind! Am I supposed to be skinny and dolled up or sporting the roughin’ it look? Help me out here! In all seriousness though, I want to bring the definition of “self-image” into the mix. The key bit of that word is “self.” It’s what YOU think of YOURSELF. Not anyone else. So what’s the problem with self-image nowadays? It’s that we’ve lost the “self” part of it. We have so many voices in the world telling us this or that, and trends are always going to be changing. To be honest, that’s the way it’s always going to be. Society is fickle and as much as it pretends to be your friend, it doesn’t have your best interest at heart. Only you can determine where your best interest is. There is no shame in being whoever you are and no shame in presenting yourself in a specific way. Because self-image should start and finish with only one person in mind: yourself. It all comes down to how you feel about yourself; your choices, your passions, and your overall sense of being. THAT is the voice you should listen to when it comes to walking out the door in the morning: your own.