Embrace Your Inner Beauty

            You’re lying to yourself and everyone else if you say you’ve never looked at a picture on a billboard or in a magazine and felt jealous or perhaps even anger that you couldn’t look like that.

            It’s honestly a lot easier than you think. There are tons of free apps that allow you to completely change your looks. I can’t even imagine what the ones you have to pay for can do to you – it’s a scary thought.

You’re also lying if you say you’ve never gone through the phase of despising your body. Whether you told yourself you were too fat, too short, too skinny, your hair was too curly, your nose too big, and so on and so forth; everyone at one time has picked his or her body apart. There are always going to be some things you might not like about yourself. But there is nothing you can do other than accept it and move on. Embrace those flaws and imperfections because they are what make you who you are.

            So many women, and even men, today go to drastic measures to fit society’s standard of what “beautiful” is. It’s sickening as well as sad. No longer do people feel comfortable in their own skin because they try so hard to be everyone else’s definition of perfect that they lose themselves in the process.

            When I posted the photo above to both facebook and Instagram I got much more feedback than I expected. I didn’t do it for the attention or to get compliments or for someone to tell me I’m naturally pretty. Instead I did it to show people that I accept myself - imperfections, flaws and all.

            I had many people contact me to say that the original, unedited picture was so much prettier and much more realistic. I also started a bit of a trend on social media with girls posting unedited pictures of themselves and it felt empowering.

            One of my friends messaged me and said she wanted to start a women’s beauty campaign. There is nothing more I would love to do, and maybe one day we will be able to.

            She also added this:

            “Your imperfections are what make you the only you in the world. They are what is going to make somebody love you someday. They are what should make a woman confident and proud of herself.”

            Thankfully, some companies today such as Aerie and Dove are promoting ad campaigns that focus on natural beauty with unedited images. These companies are out to prove that women don’t need to be photo shopped and every girl is beautiful in her own way.

            Botox, plastic surgery, and tons of makeup and other beauty products can change your outward appearance. But who wants to go through the time, money, and sometimes even pain to be someone their not?

Be you. There is only one so make it the best one.