Our Everly Mag Writing Leaders told us about their definitions of beauty and how beauty plays a role in their life. In their responses, they think critically about who gets to define beautiful, how they can make other people feel beautiful, and about times when they feel beautiful.
This article was written by our writing leader Jenni. Get to know our Summer 2018 Leaders here!
In a day and age where society is critical of everything, it feels like it’s hard to please everyone. Sometimes we have to face the fact that we won’t be able to please everyone. Being beautiful doesn’t mean having the best body, or the perfect hair. Being beautiful means to be able to feel comfortable in your own skin. Being beautiful means loving yourself and loving how you look. The only person that can decide how great you look, is yourself. When you feel beautiful and confident on the inside, it shows on the outside.
Social media may make you feel insecure about yourself. You may feel like you’re not good enough because there are girls out there that “woke up like this” and they look amazing, but in reality you don’t know what goes on behind the screen. You don’t know how much time was spent editing that photo that you just saw. You don’t even know if the person actually “woke up like this.” There are stories behind every post to make it perfect. Even celebrities that look amazing in every picture take a million selfies before they find the right one. We are all human and think that we aren’t good enough, but even the most effortless photo may have had hours of editing put into it. The society on social media often times puts an image in your head of what beauty is supposed to look like. But in reality, beauty can be whatever you want it to be.
I feel the most beautiful when ever I am on stage. I perform playing piano, and I walk the stage in pageants. I love the feeling when all eyes are on me. Sometimes I hear whispers critiquing me, but I don’t care. Because I took a lot of time to practice my piece on the piano. Or I took a lot of time practicing my walk. So I know that I look great. I feel great and nothing else matters. The sardonic murmurs don’t bother me because as Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” I know that my families and friends are out there supporting me. Life is too short to be pleasing other people, the important person you need to please is yourself.
To help yourself feel beautiful, you have to love yourself. Just because you don’t look look how society wants you to look doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful. Everything about you defines who you are. You may hate the way your nose looks, but someone out there wishes they had your nose. You may want to change how you look because you don’t fit into society’s superficial definition of beauty. You don’t have to change yourself to be beautiful. If you want to change yourself, do it because you want to, not because society told you to. Clothes and makeup are factors on whether or not you feel beautiful. But at the end of the day, remember that clothes and makeup are there to enhance your beauty. Be proud of how you look, and walk with confidence. Love who you are and let society know that you are confidently beautiful.
How do you look when you first wake up? Tweet us @everlymag on Twitter what you “wake up like”!
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