There is a famous children's tale that you may have read. The story tells of a swan born into a family of ducks and labeled the “ugly duckling.” This young swan grows up insecure as it becomes an outcast simply because it is not like the others. One day, it encounters these gorgeous, fully-grown swans and aspires to be just like them. The story ends with this swan growing into a beautiful creature worth admiration.
This story illustrates a personal frustration of mine as a young women in the 21st century. We live in a world where we are told that we are not skinny enough, not curvy enough, not pretty enough. We’ve grown up in a world that has given us an unattainable and unauthentic standard of what beauty is. We take way too much pride in being the ‘pretty’ friend. We long for the most likes on our Instagram selfies and we even secretly hope people feel generous in commenting on them as well. We feel temporarily satisfied and then wake up the next morning with our cup either completely empty or half full. This is a cycle of never feeling quite enough.This is not the life we would have created for ourselves. This is not the life our five year old selves dreamed of while playing as if we were kings and queens. I am telling you that none of us should ever feel this way. We do not have the luxury of being depressed over something as shallow as our physical appearance. We need to let the truth scream louder than the lies that have infected us.The lie that I want to expose is that, “It’s enough to just be pretty”.
Is being pretty the best thing we can be? Is that really all there is? Being pretty is not enough because being pretty holds no value. It doesn't cost you to be pretty. By the goodness of God you were just made that way. What truly holds the most value, and beauty, are the things we have to fight to become. To become brave we must triumph over fear. To be wise we must acknowledge our own ignorance. To be strong we must be tested, experience pain, and come out on the other end victorious. These are the things that I long to have define me. The point is that I had to fight to become these things. They didn't come naturally. I lost a part of myself and gained a piece of who I'm really meant to be. When my friends tell me I'm trustworthy, brilliant, kind, brave, etc., it fills my cup to an overflow because these are the things that really matter. These are the things that truly make us enough.
So, I simply encourage you to strive to be someone not only worth looking at, but also someone worth being inspired by. Like the ‘ugly duck’ you will endure some pain and trials, but you are guaranteed to grow into something beautiful. You will become brave, strong, independent, smart, and all the things you desire to be. Let these things define you. Dare to fight to become something more than enough. Make people remember you. A pretty face may turn necks but a beautiful soul can move mountains.
Be brave.
