Have you ever really looked in the mirror? I do not mean looking in the mirror to make sure that your mascara isn’t smudged, or that you meet the “requirements” to look beautiful. Yes, everyone does that too, but I mean really… really look. I do this often, and sometimes, I don’t recognize the girl staring back at me. Sure, every girl wants to look beautiful, and be called beautiful by the people she cares for most. But we all have this warped image of what beauty really is. Realization hit me… like when you smell warm sugar cookies baking downstairs, at first adrenaline rushes through your body, but then you realize no one invited you to join in on the fun. Everyone has beauty, whether they let it shine through, or not, is their choice. Being beautiful is not about being the perfect size 0, or wearing pounds of makeup to cover up “the biggest pimple in the world.”


Being beautiful doesn’t require a closet filled with the prettiest clothes, or having every boy in your grade under your love spell. Beauty is about being you, really being you. It’s about helping that girl who was getting picked on at lunch, or being there for that “weird” kid when he needs someone most. Be generous, be grateful, and be confident! I won’t be that person who tells you to ignore people when they pick at you, because you and I both know that’s not possible. When someone thinks it’s appropriate to say something disrespectful about how your new glasses look, or feels it okay to put their two sense in about your new hairstyle, chances are you already feel a little insecure about it, and it feels like a hard slap across the face when someone puts you down about it. At first it’s numb, but later it stings, and eventually there will be a bruise. Words do the same thing. So next time you are trying to impress your friends and decide that the victim of your torture should be the girl who sits alone, with her face hidden buried in a book, think. You will be the cause for her pain. You will make her insecure. You will hurt her pride, and don’t think for a second that’s okay.

Next time you look in the mirror, look past all of your natural beauty, look into your eyes and ask yourself the same questions I ask myself. Who am I? Where do I belong? Am I beautiful? Just remember beauty can be skin deep, but ugly is too the bone.