Hello, My Name Is: Beautiful!
“Do you think I’m pretty? I think you’re beautiful. Beautiful? You are so beautiful, it hurts sometimes.” - Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you! - Song of Solomon 4:7 I won’t walk the road of circumstance that led me to feel ugly. That stretch of highway is a bit too painful. Even as I type the memories shred. They tempt with falsities, asking me to walk down the unbidden road of self-loathing and self-pity. It has taken me all of 34 years to understand what it means to be beautiful: a beauty that transcends human desire and human ideals. I think this is a common thread in a woman’s life. We are taught at a young age not to accept ourselves. We don’t take praise easily. We undermine the things we have done well. Like a bitter pill, we swallow admiration. It is as if by not completely accepting our worth we retain some semblance of humility. How did we come to believe ...