You are beautiful.
You see that statement above? You may have said it to someone, you may have received that statement before. But have you ever believed it?
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You are beautiful.
Society's standards make us think that we are not. They shove an unattainable standard down our throats at a very young age. You must be thin, you must be tall, you must be shaved, you must compare yourself with other women, and you must wear makeup to be beautiful.
THESE ARE ALL LIES.
You don't absolutely HAVE to wear makeup if you don't want to. And I totally get that it can be an art and it can boost people's confidence. But it shouldn't be a crutch or a mask for you to wear. You shouldn't have to feel like you have to wear makeup to feel beautiful. You should feel comfortable without it on just as much are you are with it on. I never actually learned the whole makeup process when I was growing up. My mom says she never taught me "because I never asked." And I'm happy I never asked. For one, it saves me a lot of time in the morning. I also know that when someone meets me for the first time, for the thirtieth time, for the 300th time, that they are seeing the real me.
I know that being body confident can be difficult. Yes, I'd consider myself fairly thin considering my genetics and my dad being tall and thin. But being body confident can be difficult even for those who seem to have "perfect bodies." Friends, seriously, there is no such thing as a "perfect body" let's be honest here. The "perfect bodies" on magazines and stuff-- there's a magical little application called Photoshop that is used to make them so perfect. I have little freckles that dot my skin on my arms and my legs, I have scar tissue from where I scraped my knee on the hardwood gym and on the UNI Dome turf, and there's a little dip in my skin on one of my legs. There will be stretch marks, ingrown hairs and gray hairs and bruises, scratches, imprints, acne, blackheads, dry spots, all sorts of things. Nobody and no body is truly "perfect."
Once you know that nobody/no body truly is perfect or ever will be perfect, you need to not judge your own body based on others' bodies. Why would everybody want to look the same? Embrace your differences. They're what make you uniquely you. They make you recognizable. They make you visible.
Start loving yourself for who you are. Stop trying to be like her or them or him. Be yourself. When you accept yourself as you and you know that you are beautiful as you are, you attain an air of confidence that makes you even more beautiful. You know that, by accepting your body as it is, you exude an air of confidence that no one can drag you down from.
And honestly, the only thing you truly need to be beautiful is a smile.
You are beautiful.
And I hope that you believe that because I mean it.
