Girl you are Beautiful!
I take a lot of pictures. Professionally. No I’m not a photographer, I make photo IDs for Big Seattle University. We have an assortment of students who come in, some shy, some excited, some vain and some not so vain. There is a subset of students, usually women who are above average weight, who seem to be disappointed with their appearance. They squirm in front of the camera, shifting left and right, trying , hoping , begging for a picture that makes them feel better. Looking at them makes me sad. You see, they are all fabulous. Looking at each one of them I am able to identify something in them that is beautiful. Sometimes its their hair, their smile, their eyes.
I take a moment to compliment them as they wait for the photo to print, usually I get brushed off.
“My lips are too big”
“My hair is crazy”
“My double chin was showing”
“My eyes are too far apart”
“I hate how I look”
The last one is the most common.
I want to take these girls aside and give them a self esteem shot. I’m not saying that they have to be ecstatic about how they look, but instead of instantly degrading how they look, they should take ownership and acknowledge a compliment, and say “Thank you”.
Most of us don’t meet the “standard of beauty” upheld by the media. Even if I met the weight requirements, there would be something else wrong with me. I don’t pluck enough, not enough make up, not enough goo in my hair, My breasts would be saggy, I wear glasses, my teeth are bad, there would be something else that would make me not perfect.
I’m still beautiful. My beauty is not entrenched in meeting a standard. It is in being who I am. It is being a fat redhead with hazel eyes and sometimes crazy hair. It is in being 5’2 and wearing glasses and having a progressively changing fashion sense.
I just want to say “Girl you are beautiful. Start living life. Don’t shirk from photos, be it an id for school, or a special occasion. Don’t look back on the photo album and find yourself missing because you thought your nose was too big. Be fabulous,Feel fabulous. Flaunt what you’ve got, and don’t apologize!”