Average or Beautiful?

It’s been brought to my attention that women in this day and age don’t see themselves clearly. I have fallen victim to this same problem. The sad thing is that society condones this. I know I can’t blame something or someone for thinking I’m not beautiful. I mean, how can you think you’re beautiful when everywhere you look you see Karlie Kloss on magazines, a stick-thin, beautiful fashion model? Or Taylor Swift, with her blue eyes and bright red lips. What about Cara Delevingne? Or maybe Behati Prinsloo? What about the Kardashian sisters? How could it be easy for anyone to believe that they can compare to these women?

Looking in the mirror at myself, I don’t see anything spectacular.  My red hair that is naturally wavy, but I straighten it, falls a little above my shoulders. I have green eyes, a small nose, and somewhat straight teeth. I wear glasses. I have big cheeks. I’m not stick-thin. Hell, I’m not even skinny. My thighs are huge. I get my nails done. I wear make-up every day; I can’t go a day without wearing some. I refuse to wear shorts because I don’t like my legs. I don’t go anywhere without wearing a jacket of some sort because I think my arms are disgusting. I’m not Karlie Kloss or Taylor Swift or Cara Delevinge or Behati Prinsloo.

BUT I AM ME.

AND YOU ARE YOU.

Who am I to tell anyone that they’re beautiful when I don’t believe that I’m beautiful? You know that quote “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”? I never used to believe in such a thing. But I’ve learned through the years that it truly is in the eye of the beholder…. YOU.  Once you believe that you’re beautiful, nothing can stop you from thinking everyone else thinks you’re beautiful too.

You don’t have to be Karlie Kloss, Taylor Swift, Cara Delevinge, or Behati Prinsloo to be beautiful. You just have to be YOU.

In the new Dove campaign, women choose between two different doors: “average” and “beautiful”. Most of the women in the video choose the “average” door because they don’t believe themselves to be more than that. It’s a very powerful campaign, and sends the right message to young girls who have yet to go through the craziness.

Dove’s campaign: bit.ly/1aF6NsY