We Are Beautiful

        Okay, so I just caught myself doing something -- looking at pictures.  At first, Taylor Swift, because I'd just come across her twitter and she had a few pictures of her (and her adorable cat, Meredith).  Then, Vanessa Hudgens, as I heard about her on a gURL article I was reading. But for a second I couldn't answer a question for myself...

        Why?

        My reason for looking specifically for pictures of them? Because they're beautiful.  It's really strange to listen to what I'm thinking while I look at pictures of people:

"Wow, they're really pretty."

"I wish I had hair that looked that good."

"They have a beautiful face shape."

        And I find myself thinking these thoughts silently all of the time.  I feel bad now that I'm thinking about myself doing this, because I'm just judging all of them... but it's hard. It's a habit that I think we all have (correct me if I'm wrong).  It's not always bad - if someone's beautiful, it's good. so, "Wow, they're really pretty," - I'm fine having that thought.  It's the "I wish..." ones that I hate most.

        My girl scout leader calls it our worst enemy - ourselves. Whenever I think of an, "I wish...", it brings me back to thinking about all of the ways that I'm not beautiful. 

Again, "I wish I had hair that looked that good."

"I wish I had smooth, clear skin."

"I wish I had the perfect face shape."

"I wish I had pretty, white, straight teeth."

"I wish I could sing like that. (Yes, that's beautiful.)"

        But, my GS leader also gave us the solution that she used for years - tell it to go away.  We are our own worst critics, and if we get caught in a cycle of criticizing ourselves, we aren't building anything - we're just destroying everything.  My leader said that when you notice yourself doing it, just tell it to go away (assuming it's a negative critic, which it usually is- sometimes we do need to criticize ourselves).

        Now, this is not me denying that Taylor and Vanessa are beautiful - they freaking are - but, just a reminder to mainly myself, but to you too, that there is no perfect.  There's no such thing as one type of beauty.  We're all beautiful.  Yeah, yeah... everyone says it. But it's true. 

        SO! I challenge you (me) to embrace how beautiful you are. Push away the inner critic and embrace your beauty.  (Or "handsomeness" if you prefer, I guess, since guys often seem to not want to be called beautiful? But really, all you guys out there are beautiful too!)  It's okay to be self-centered for a moment or two, if it makes you feel better in your everyday life.

        I am beautiful: Sometimes I have days where I like my hair. I have really long eyelashes. I have a crooked smile, and I like it. I had no cavities when I went to the dentist last. I love my crooked pinkies (even though they creep a lot of people out :-D ).  I like that I can get away with "strange" clothes.  I can bull-crap an essay like a boss.  I love to draw, and am relatively good at it. Also, I have all of my limbs! And I am very grateful for that. 

        Smile. You're beautiful! And you're awesome, too! And it's a beautiful day for you to be happy with you!

Love, peace, and DFTBA.