This One's for the Girls

I can't count the number of times I've heard speeches or read blogs or heard songs about how I'm beautiful the way I am and that I shouldn't have to be anyone but me. It's a concept that gets tossed around a lot.  So here are a few of my thoughts...

-The way society thinks is not usually the way people actually think. Media makes stuff up. They tell us that what's beautiful is everything we aren't. People, on the other hand, appreciate beauty a lot more freely than we give them credit for. Maybe they don't give you the compliments that they're thinking, but it doesn't mean they aren't still there.

-Sometimes people tell me they wish they had my 'cute, little body'. And then sometimes people tell me that my straight body shape and small chest make me less of a woman than someone with curves. If no one is ever going to tell us we win, why can't we just know that we do either way?

-When you go through a breakup, your best friends tell your that you're beautiful the way you are. When he gets a new girlfriend, they tell you that you're way cuter. Maybe it's nice to hear in the moment, but how come she can't be beautiful just the way she is, too? 

-I watched the Try music video by Colbie Callait probably 500 times before writing this and each time, I found myself thinking, "wow, she is so naturally beautiful. I wish my hair looked like that when it air dried..." or even (and this one is embarrassing), "She's even beautiful with a bald head. If I looked like her, I wouldn't feel ugly when I have a bad hair day." Are you kidding me? The whole purpose of the song is to prevent those thoughts. To help us realize our natural beauty and be happy in it. And still, I left wishing. 

-What's weak or ugly about having a body, whatever it looks like? Bodies are literally God-given miracles. You formed from a couple of specs, people. 

-If I have a daughter, I'll tell her she's a princess when she's cute and little. But I'll also make sure she knows she's still a princess when she's 15 and has a zit right on the end of her nose, when she's been sick all week and she has bags under her eyes and a grease-head, when the guy she likes just wants to be friends.

-Satan makes this a big deal because he wants to distract us from the things that are actually important.

-I don't think this topic can be addressed enough because I don't think we can get enough reminders.

What do you think?

LOVIES,
Kelli