It’s been a while since I’ve posted something personal here. I get so busy with family and business and it seems the heartfelt things I want to share get pushed to the back burner. But there have been so many times this blog post has run through my mind. Sometimes I lie in bed running the text of what I will share through my head over and over and vow to write it all down the next day. Then I wake up, forgetting my thoughts. They’ll creep back after I view self-depreciating words on social media from my young senior clients, or if I’m having a “fat day”, or a past life experience surfaces once again.

You see, comparison and the “idea” of beauty infiltrates our lives every where we turn. It wasn’t any different when I was growing up, we just didn’t have the social media aspect to deal with like we do now. As a child, I grew up with some family members who put such great emphasis on outward appearance, that I felt inadequate. I always felt a little “less than” and that I could never compare to others. I was short, curvy, and athletic with big eyes and well developed cheeks. Not much has changed! 🙂 My grandmother told me I reminded her of Ann Rutherford, a 1940’s actress who played Carreen in Gone With the Wind. I loved that compliment, but I didn’t always take it to heart at that age.

I had a high school boyfriend who told me a cousin of mine was “much, much prettier than me” and another one later who said I “didn’t have enough symmetry to my facial features so I couldn’t be beautiful, but I was cute.” Really? Boys, take it from me and NEVER say that to a girl. What a slap in the face! I carry those feelings with me to this day, but I haven’t talked about them until now.

On the eve of releasing my 2018 VIPteam applications, I feel such a strong urge to share some things I’ve learned over the years. Yeah, they may seem cliche, but I need to remind my impressionable young women as well as my moms, sisters, aunts, grandmother clients as well. Beauty is NOT outward appearance. You can have the most sought-after physical features and be the ugliest person because of what’s inside. Yeah, we all make ugly mistakes, but a kind and genuine heart is so beautiful to me. Giving to others with no expectation of receiving anything in return is absolutely gorgeous. Consistently and genuinely aiming to be the best version of yourself is not only admirable, but so very pretty.

One of the reasons I love working with high school seniors is it gives me one opportunity to show impressionable young women how beautiful they really, REALLY are. Maybe my words and images can help them change their mind if they are experiencing the comparison beast? Maybe by giving them one-on-one attention I can help them forget what a boyfriend or family member said? If you’re feeling this way, I urge you to look on the inside and start to love what’s there. Because as Audrey Hepburn said, “True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.”