Pretty as a Picture, Perfect as Yourself

I am such a victim to vanity.

To say I idly flick through a glossy mag while rolling my eyes and filing my nails would be a misrepresentation of the truth. I am the girl who buys a magazine and then studies it like I am going to be graded on it. Every time those words are embellished on the front cover, promising within its contents instructions on “how to get more toned/less spots/prettier complexion/shinier hair,” I’ve already sussed out the mag and am on my way to the counter.

I, like many of you I’m sure, then do a little calculation (and trust me maths wasn’t normally my strong point) on what products I’ve been seduced to invest in (“Oooooh I need this product because: my hair does look flat/my teeth could be whiter/my eyeslashes need lengthening” etc.). But we always end up somewhat deflated, don’t we? Somehow we still see the same person staring back at us. With the same homework/bills to pay/cat to feed.

Well I’ve decided that girl will just have to do. And you know what? She looks great just as she is. And so do you.

This new leaf came when it suddenly dawned on me that as I naturally am, I am never going to be the girl on the billboard. These girls have always looked infallible. My pores sometimes look to me like craters on the moon, my mascara always runs and I think sometimes I look a bit like a chimp. Yet how I naturally am – is me. The bigger version of the same little girl who had certain dreams and aspirations and is now all grown up.  These models on the billboard are real too, but what is not realistic is their portrayal here – we don’t all go around with the perfect lighting/make-up artist/airbrush computer tool and neither do they, away from their work. So we need to start liking ourselves for who we are a bit more and compare our image to others a bit less. There will always be someone who thinks you look great, just as you are.

I’m still wearing my mascara and I still own a mirror, by the way. But I am trying to be happier a bit more with what God gave me.  We shouldn’t have to change ourselves, we should however really like ourselves – be who you are.

You can read more from Amelia Voice on her blog and follow her on Twitter.

(Image via Shutterstock)