Stay Beautiful

You guys are amazing! This was sent in anonymously.

Perceptions of beauty,

Are so completely messed up these days. What kind of world do we live in if 'beautiful' is considered a size double 0? That is so far from realistic it's sickening. Nobody can look like those models in fashion magazines, showing us what's "in" or "out" this season. Those girls hardly eat, and they are far from happy. No person, especially young women, should everthink that that's what they need to look like to be considered beautiful.

And what happens when girls realize that they don't and can't look like that? They resort to unnatural forms of beauty: cutting, anorexia, bulimia, dying their hair, wearing obscene amounts of makeup, making sure that they only buy name-brand clothing. What does all of that lead to? Changing the amount of food you eat [or don't eat], changing your hair color and changing your outside exterior completely can't ever change who you are on the outside. You can still be absolutely miserable and hate your reflection in the mirror. Your perceptions won't change, no matter how much money you spend on being someone else.

Perfection is an epidemic. A deathly, deathly epidemic. There is no cure for the disease of wanting to be perfect. Nobody can ever attempt to describe and deal with everyone's perception of themself and fix it. It's impossible. There is only one way to fix this: be ourselves.

As cliche as it sounds, we all have to accept who we truly are. And whether you're a size 4 or a size 14, it doesn't matter. Everyone has to realize that they have special qualities that make them who they are, a certain... jenasaqua. And each person has at least one thing that they love about themselves. For me, it's my eyes. They change color depending on what I wear, and I always get compliments on them. When I get those compliments, I grin like a fool.

So I've come up with this concept, something to stop this cruelty that is plaguing young women [and even men] across the world. A list of essentials that every person needs in their arsenal:

1. Give a compliment to at least one person every single day. It's only a sentence. "I love your hair." "You look pretty today." "That dress looks so cute on you!" Though it might seem like something inconsequential, it could be the only nice thing that person hears all day. All week, even. It might make their day go from horrible to slightly better. And even if they smile for a brief moment, it's a smile, nonetheless.

2. Smile. Even when you don't feel like smiling, smile. It's scientifically proven that it takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown. Even the action puts you in a better mood.

3. Laugh. Everyday. It's good for your heart and soul.

4. Don't be quick to judge people. Judgement is what has led us to this problem in the first place. Meet people before you even start to think of judging them. They could be the sweetest person in the world, and you would have no idea if you chose not to befriend them.

5. Accept your flaws, and accept others flaws. Everyone has them, whether we admit it or not. And everyone, at least once in their life, has cried over those flaws of theirs. You don't have to highlight them, but they also don't have to rule your life.

You are who you are. And that you? They are absolutely beautiful.

I love waking up to read all of your comments and love for this blog. This is all for you! Keep sending in your reflections, pictures and comments to loveyoubeautiful@gmail.com and follow us on twitter @loveubeautiful :)

Each and every one of you is worth it <3

Kiss From a Rose

Wow wow wow! I received this a few nights ago and it brought tears to my eyes. You are all so amazing I can't even begin to tell you all!

I love everything about this site possible. It's an amazing, perfect way to show girls that they really are beautiful in every way because it's not what you look like that counts. I'd like to say that I feel like I'm beautiful now, after everything that I've read on here. All the stories. But I'm just not to that point yet. I was a really athletic child. All I ever really did was run, play soccer, and play outside.

When I got to junior high, I started to gain weight, but I was never made fun of or upset about it. It was just a way of maturing, and my best friend was just like me. Overweight, but not bad. I thought I'd always have someone to rely on.

But high school came around, and my best friend put herself on Jenny Craig. She was motivated. She lost the weight. She looked beautiful, started getting all the guys, and I was...nothing. By myself. After all, I had nobody just like me anymore. I wasn't motivated. I had no metabolism, and couldn't force myself off the phone, or couch to even walk around the block.

I started to feel horrible every second of the day. My best friend was happy with her new boyfriend, and while I was happy for her, I couldn't help but feel left out. I got acne, horrible acne. And that's all that anyone saw of me. Just the red spots on my face, and not me.

I became paranoid, terrified that everyone was talking about me. Whispering behind their hands as I passed in the hallway. Calling me fat. Calling me ugly. To this day, I still can't wear some kind of normal t shirt to school. It has to be a tunic, or a dress. I have to carry a jacket with me everywhere I go because I can put it in my lap and cover my thighs. Or I can put it on and hide my fat.

Deep down inside. I know I'm not that fat. I'm actually pretty average weight. I'm tall, so my weight falls on my frame nicely. But I just can't help but feel fat. And ugly. When my best friend gets one pimple, her world comes to an end and all she does is complain about that one pimple. She doesn't know how good she's got it. How, every guy we have both liked always picks her.

I don't think I'm beautiful now, but I don't think I'm ugly either. I read a book called Uglies by Scott Westerfeld in which, when you turn 16, you get an operation to turn pretty. Then you move into New Pretty Town where the only rule is that you have to have fun all the time. But when the main character goes to a place where the people decide not to turn pretty, she realizes that it's not what is on the outside that counts. It's how you act that really matters. The way you treat people.

And I'm learning that. I really am. I know that my family will love me no matter what flaws I have. I realize that some of the girls at school I once considered pretty are actually ugly. In the sense that they are horrible people. They look down on people they consider beneath them. Then I thank goodness that I escaped turning out like that.

I'm learning to look in the mirror every day and pick out one thing that I find beautiful. And if not beautiful, then at least unique. My imperfect eyes? No one else has those. The scar on my leg from falling? All mine. I'm unique, and my thoughts make me beautiful, even if I don't consider the outside of me to be. This site has helped me so much.

Keep sending in your reflections and pictures to loveyoubeautiful@gmail.com AND ALSO I am in the process of creating a LYB playlist to listen to when you need that little pick me up and it should be up shortly! If you have any suggestions please let us know and remember to follow us on twitter @loveubeautiful! <3

Catch Me

Sent in by an anonymous reader. Keep sending in your reflections! This blog is for you <3

Being a teenager is hard, especially when you don’t feel secure in your own skin. Ever since I can remember I’ve been insecure about myself, I always felt like I wasn’t good enough or even pretty enough, but I was still true to myself and I had hope. I have braces since i was 8 that wasn’t a problem, actually I liked ‘em until I turned sixteen then everything went down, one of my closest friends passed away, acne appeared in my life, I had to use glasses and I also started to feel fat and like I didn’t belong anywhere, I remember crying every single night, I couldn’t see myself in a mirror or even hang out with my friends without feeling ugly. So yeah turning sixteen was everything but sweet.

“Everything happens for a reason” that’s what I stared to believe, ‘cause at that point I really needed something to believe in. One day I woke up, and I looked myself on the mirror, suddenly I was feeling beautiful for the first time in almost a year, I was so happy and everyone could see it. That’s when I realized that the best cure for anything is just accept yourself the way you’re, smile and believe. Believe ‘cause nothing last forever. Since that day I’ve been getting better and better, my acne is under control, I’m having my braces off in a couple of months and I’ve finally found the best “eating style” that works for me, but must important I feel so happy, strong, and beautiful.

“What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger”

P.S: I’m a true believer that beauty magazines only promote low self esteem, I remember feeling down ‘cause I didn’t look like those models at all, new flash: It’s call Photoshop. So please, do not think you don’t worth it, or that you’re ugly, ‘cause that’s a lie and totally breaks my heart, we are ALL beautiful and special in our own way, smile and keep getting better.

Remember to send in your pictures and reflections so loveyoubeautiful@gmail.com and follow us on twitter @loveubeautiful! <333>