Maybe this isn’t you, but some days I criticize my appearance so harshly. I have the world’s smallest eyelashes and have a horrible habit for picking at them when I’m stressed (sooo all the time). Teeth aren’t straight enough, nose isn’t small enough, boobs aren’t big enough, knees are too dark, hair isn’t flowing down my back, body isn’t as toned as it used to be, my feet are huge blah, blah, blah. My list goes for days.
I berate myself for… well why do I?
Because Vogue magazine says size 0 is the perfect proportion? Maybe because Sports Illustrated makes every guy assume that we all should look like Kate Upton? Or contrary, how GQ makes guys feel like washboard abs and huge arms is the key to life. Oh, maybe it’s because you listen to people describe their “type”. Thus the defining checklist to qualify as “gorgeous” comes to life. Maybe it’s the burning sensation of makeup remover, but I realized I have to stop. Many of us have to stop. Comparing ourselves to other people. Being ashamed of what makes us who we are.
I’m over letting what people describe as their type, determine how I feel about myself. I used to have a guy constantly tell me that I should wear fire red lipstick and grow my hair out to look “hot”. So, I tried both and absolutely hated them. I felt like a vampire out for blood and grossly self-conscious for months. And that’s because I was letting his opinion depict my personal choices. More importantly, I wasn’t being true to myself. These days, I love having a bald haircut. I wear ‘barely pink’ lip gloss from H&M for every occasion. I get incredible deals during shoe sales because 10 is usually the only size left. So what if my appearance doesn’t fancy certain people? Who cares if someone believes short hair makes me less of a woman? So what if I don’t resemble the other girls I’m compared to?
SOOO WHAT. And I encourage all of you lovely people reading this to say the same. Learn to feel unapologetically comfortable in your own skin (which I know is hard). To constantly be compared to unrealistic standards of beauty and still feel pretty.
But we CAN overcome this. Take what you have and own it. Any physical feature, from body type to skin tone. Just because you may not fit the “norm”, doesn’t mean you are any less beautiful. You’re more than just a body, but a human, with a multi-faceted personality and something valuable to contribute.
We can only be ourselves. I can only be myself. Shelby.
And someone says you're not their “type”?
Cool, they're one person out of the other 7 billion that live on this planet.
Sincerely,
Shelbs