Seeing The Beauty in You

Every woman, young or old, can understand the inner struggle of seeing yourself as beautiful. I know as a nineteen year old in my first year of college I’m constantly trying new things and trying to figure out who I am. For me that includes liking myself in my own skin. I am what my mom calls “tall and lean” and what my friends say “a blonde with spidery long legs.”

But if I’m being honest with all of you, those comments don’t always make me feel beautiful. Don’t get me wrong when I think I look good I’m not afraid to say it. Yet, I still struggle with days where I feel like a greasy mess or like nothing fits right. I want to share how I am coming to see my beauty on my own and hopefully it helps others to see theirs.

I had really bad acne in middle school and into high school and I was so insecure and I felt my acne was all people saw when they looked at me. My mom and sister Maria (daughter number three) were huge helps during this time. They both helped me try new products and encouraged me to stick to strict morning and time night routines. For me using a Clarisonic to wash my face was the key to clean deep into my pores. I now use LimeLight skin care daily because they are all natural and I don’t feel like my skin is heavy with all the products. Finally, I’m able to leave the house without makeup and not be scared to see someone I know.

I get my height from my dad and some people would say I am the perfect height to model, but my height always made me feel less feminine. I've always been very skinny so I never felt I was as curvy as I should be. Part of this had to do with puberty and I needed to grow into my limbs a little more, but part of it also had to do with a healthy lifestyle. I never starved myself; just ask my mom and she will tell you how eating is my favorite pass-time. I did eat whatever I wanted and only worked out during volleyball season when it was required. Now, being in college I had to balance my diet and my time at the gym. I tell myself every time I get seconds (which is a lot) that I’ll at least do crunches in my room to balance it out. Whoever said everything is moderation was definitely on to something.

Another thing that I feel really helped me feel beautiful was putting on clothes that I feel good wearing. I’ve always been the type of person to wear whatever I wanted no matter what other people thought. My taste is more modest compared to others my age yet, young and flirty. I like to pair my red rain boots with dresses and if I wear fitted clothes I always have a high neckline. No matter what I decide to throw on I always pick something that makes me smile when I look in the mirror. Most of all I try to stay away from the newest trends because I never want to look like anyone else.

Feeling beautiful in your own skin takes time and is a lifelong process. For me, the first step was being able to see my mom so confident in everything she does to remind me to do the same. From then on I knew that eating healthy and taking care of myself would take me the rest of the way.

I hope that if you're reading this and you don’t see your beauty quite yet that you found a place to start with this article. If you have your own story to share, I would love to hear it in the comments below!

-Daughter Number Four