You Are Beautiful, Be Your Own Beholder

I am happy for all the hype going on with Colbie Caillat’s new song and video “Try”. What does it mean to be beautiful? By whose standards? Is beauty something we are or something we put on? Everyone’s answers to the questions above will be different. I will attempt to answer them for me and anyone else who may agree.

My definition of being beautiful means seeing yourself bare and love who you see in the mirror. No make-up on, no expensive clothes, and no fancy hair-do. Colbie sang “you don’t have to try”, because being beautiful is not something you put on or try to make look a certain way so others can see and accept.  It is almost unheard of to hear someone say, “you are beautiful on the inside”, because somehow we have managed to make beauty a layer of clothing, make-up, and five-inch heels instead of the core of who we are.

Being beautiful means not having to hide. It is lending a hand to someone who needs it even if you need it too. It is smiling when you don’t think you have a single reason to. It is putting other peoples needs beyond your own – beauty is love! I remember throwing a fit when I used to get a pimple, but that was before I discovered who I truly am. Before I learned that beauty goes beyond what I can see and is extended to how I perceive others and my reaction to the actions around me. Beauty is not about making people like me, but it is me liking myself.

I am not quite sure where the notion came from, that beauty is in a closed box category and whoever is not within that box is not beautiful. Who set the standards? Who gets to say we are beautiful or that we are not? If we look at it for what it truly is, we would realize that no amount of clothes, hair, or make-up could make anyone beautiful or else our idea of a beautiful person would never fail when that person opens his or her mouth and ugliness comes out. We can all agree that a typical “beautiful person” can become fairly ugly in no time when words that are not pretty come out of her/his mouth. Therefore, beauty is more than what meets the eyes. Set your own standards of what it means to be beautiful. Prior to the Colbie’s song, I noticed a group girls are doing a sexy/beautiful challenge on Facebook. Some call it beautiful, others call it sexy. I could not help notice that all the pictures they post are pictures of them wearing make up, beautiful clothes and nice hair-dos. Someone did put a smile on my face by posting pictures of her family and friends along with her. To her, beauty is family and time together with friends – I assume. This is not me saying that all the other girls were not beautiful. It goes to show that being beautiful means something different to all of us, hence there should not be a closed box group of standards for everyone to follow.

To me, beauty is definitely not something I put on. Don’t get me wrong, I am a woman as well. I dress up to a T when I am going on date or somewhere I deemed special. So I understand. However, over time I have discovered myself and have learned to understand and accept me. I define beauty in my own terms. Beauty is love. It is the smile across my face when I am helping someone. It is joy in my heart when I worship. It is the feeling of loving the skin I am in.

You are beautiful inside and out. Let no one tell you otherwise. Set your own standards, and don’t put yourself in that box.

To being beautiful,

Yve