LOVE YOURSELF!!

Tonight, I was watching a Say Yes to the Dress episode. 

I'm sure you have all heard of it. The bride-to-be's come into the bridal store in hope to find THE perfect dress for their big day.

On this particular episode, the bride had shopped at another store, tried on more of a form fitting gown, and the sales associate told her she maybe needed the dress in several sizes larger. She explained that since that moment, it had brought out some self esteem issues and she had worked hard to lose 70 pounds. She looked GREAT! This girl was absolutely beautiful but she didn't see herself as the beautiful person she was. When she looked in the mirror, she expected to see herself in the dresses, as she saw the models in the pictures. 

Society puts SO much pressure on girls being a certain size or looking a certain way. In the past couple of years, I have seen so many 12, 13, and 14 year olds sit in my chair and compare themselves to celebrities or other girls at school who are wearing a TON of makeup and, in my opinion, questionable attire for their age! (Don't even get me STARTED on that subject! I mean SERIOUSLY, you let your daughter walk out of the house like that? What kind of message do you think you are letting her send about herself?!) 

I know I wasn't allowed to wear any type of makeup until I was at least 13 or 14 and even then it was a powder to take the shine off my face, lipgloss, and MAYBE mascara. And from my experience dating, guys DO NOT like thick, caked up makeup, and all that glam jazz that comes with it. 

We need to STOP comparing ourselves to the pictures we see of celebrities! Photoshop plays a HUGE role In the way they appear in the magazines from their photo shoot! You have read the preview pages just inside the cover. Sometimes they tell their arrival time of at least 5:30 in the morning and they spend HOURS getting ready! 

Don't forget #1 they have had a makeup artist  #2 they have had their hair done by a professional.. Their hair was probably set with rollers before the final styling and #3 they have most likely even added extensions to their hair to add fullness. And even then, their hair has been photoshopped if it's not as full on one side as the other! 

You can see that here below and you can also see where they removed the fly away's..

Here are a few more examples.

Parts of her were "brought in" to look much smaller than her original photo and her skin was given a whole new tone. 

Don't forget they have several touch ups with their hair and makeup between the different shots...

Wouldn't you agree the "before" looks are much more different than their "after."

I know I'm guilty of looking in the mirror and feeling like I have a not so good reflection staring back at me. I can really pick myself apart at times! "My teeth aren't white enough, OMG, I am getting wrinkles on my forehead, I wish I didn't have these bags under my eyes and when I smiled "crow's feet" wouldn't pop up, I wish my nose didn't look so big, and the list could go on." My clothes tell me I am a certain size but when I look in the mirror my mind tells me otherwise. People give me compliments too and I STILL second guess on whether or not I really do look the way they say I do. 

Let me tell you too that I am a curvy woman. It has taken me a LONG time to embrace these curves and even still sometimes I wished my body was made up just a little differently. I have stretch marks in several different places of my body that I WISH more than anything would disappear. Over time tho I have learned to accept the fact they are NOT going anywhere and it doesn't change who I am inside. And you know what? Coach LOVES me just the way I am! He has even told me he certainly doesn't want to be holding a skeleton! I recently saw pics of a girl who's ribs and hip bones were sticking out in her pictures and I seriously wanted to cook her a good ol' southern meal to eat! I do not mean that in an ugly way.. It just did NOT look healthy at all and looking at her bones was NOT attractive to me! 

(I love the Dove ads because they show natural, beautiful, healthy women, of all shapes and sizes, just the way they are!)

AND ABOVE ALL-- THIS IS THE WAY GOD MADE ME.

REMEMBER::

There will probably be some people reading this who have seen me wear hair extensions and fake eyelashes. This is NOT something I do everyday.. in fact, it's something that I RARELY do. Sometimes, it is just fun to experiment with something new and play 'dress up', if you will. I DO NOT get up at 5:30 in the morning to do this. You can ask my salon family.. I can hardly get to work at 9:30 because I am NOT a morning person! 

I am just saying, and I am speaking to myself as well,

TO LOVE YOURSELF.

BECAUSE:

JUST THE WAY GOD MADE YOU.