On being beautiful.

I originally posted a variation of this back in May, when my blog was still tiny (and really, it IS still pretty tiny!) and I keep coming back to this post.  The past few months have been rough for me, and this, my own words, kind of keep me balanced. 

"Real women have curves."

I used to be comforted by this quote.
Never having been a size 2, even in middle school (seriously, that train just straight up missed me!) I was eager to grasp onto the idea that I was prettier than the "skinny girls", by virtue of having boobs.  I was a C cup by the eighth grade!  My sisters were always these skinny little things, and I knew that would never be me.

It took me a long time to realize that real women come in different shapes and sizes.

Not all women were built to be a size 14 or more, just as not all women were built to be a size 0.

Skinny isn't bad.

Chubby isn't bad.

{AsYouWishPrinting}

Real women are healthy.

It's not about your jean size.

It's about how you feel when you wake up in the morning.

It's about learning to love yourself for who you are, not who you think others want you to be.

It's about learning to have confidence in yourself.

{via}

Real women are confident.

Size 20, size 2 - if you're insecure, or selfish, or catty, or kindhearted, it shows through.

A woman can be ugly at a size two, and beautiful at a size 20.

It's about attitude.

You can wear all the makeup and expensive clothes in the world, it doesn't cover up ugliness inside.

Be kind.  Inner beauty always shows through.

{mirilovelove}

...


I'm not a size two.  Or a size 6, or even a 12.
I'm a size 14. (Except in my special pants.)
I'm often too large to fit in XL shirts in my favorite stores.
I'm too small to fit into plus sized clothing.
I'm stuck in the world of in-between.

But.
I am Beautiful.
I can say this with with conviction, because I know it to be true.
It's not because of my makeup, or expensive clothes.
It's not because I've been blessed with a really great complexion, and my hair stylist is amazing.

It's because I have confidence in myself.
It's because I do my best every day to banish negativity from my life.
It's because I try every day to do something nice for someone else.
It's because I truly love myself, and who I am.
Getting there was a long and hard road, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
Every single step along the way, good and bad, have made me into who I am today.

My fiance's constant reassurances that I'm perfect don't hurt either ;-)

I know I'm not *actually* perfect.
I have many flaws.
I'm not always the nicest, most positive person in the world.

But I try to be.
I know that my voice alone can't change the world.

But if one simple thing that I post on the internet, helps one person who might be struggling with their self image, and their self esteem, then I have done my job as a human being to help someone else.
Making a difference can be as small as a smile.