Embrace the Natural YOU!

Freshly rolled out of bed! 

I had caught myself thinking about my high school days, and I remembered that when I was younger, I couldn't live without putting on my makeup. I didn't even want to go anywhere in public without first having put on my lip gloss, concealer, eyeliner, and blush and styling my hair. My friends had never seen me NOT done up. I was extremely self-conscious and had always spent ridiculous amounts of time in front of a mirror. It was like I needed to look as good and as perfect as I could 24/7. At the end of the day, the worst part for me was when I had to wash all my makeup away. I felt ugly and hated how I looked without it.

 I wasn't the only girl like this, either. I knew plenty of girls at my school who were exactly the same. Back then, it seemed normal to be that way. Thinking about it now though, the whole thing just seems really sad. The worse thing is, sometimes girls don't grow out of this mindset. Some still believe that they aren't pretty without doing their hair and makeup and dressing up, even though that's not true. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that anyone should stop doing these things. I LOVE getting myself all dolled up still; it's fun! I just don't feel like I need to rely on it to feel good about myself anymore, and neither should anyone else.

I fussed over my looks for so long, and after awhile, I became sick and tired of it. Eventually, I just stopped caring about what other people thought (or to be more exact, what I thought people thought) of my appearance and picking at every little flaw on my body, and you know what? I'm so much happier now! I learned to accept my less than perfect traits and some of them I've even come to like.  Those stretch marks on my thighs?  Most women have them, and they fade over time! That mole that's right in the middle of my nose? It's a little mark that makes me unique. How many people can you say that you've met with one in that exact spot? I've never seen anyone else with one. :) I grew to love that part of me and quit being embarrassed about it. I actually can't even imagine it not being there anymore! xD

Also, I try to keep in mind that not many people are even going to sit there and try to spot all of  my imperfections anyway, so why should I stress over them? Most likely, they're more focused on their own  "flaws", not mine. Heck, they probably can't even see them! I can't tell you how many times my friends had complained over something about themselves that I hadn't even noticed and vice versa. So there is really no point in my making myself miserable, is there? :) The same goes for everyone else!

What I'm trying to say here is, everyone is beautiful the way they are. Everyone! ^_^ Don't let anyone make you need to be a certain way to be considered pretty, because that's just a bunch of barnacles! (SpongeBob reference....haha). You don't need to hide or change a thing about you, so.... EMBRACE YOUR GORGEOUS SELF! Annnnd go out there and flaunt your natural beauty. :D