Beautiful. Pretty. Gorgeous. Or However You'd Like to Look at It
Somebody or the other asked me over a couple of beers and (then, like two years ago then) yosi, "Is beauty a curse?"
I was dumbfounded. Being the queen of gab, at least to my set of friends, being dumbfounded is as rare as lunar eclipses.
She, asking me this particular question posed another question: Did I feel beautiful enough to answer that?
I have to admit it's not like that I have felt this comfortable in my own skin since time immemorial. I remember having awkward stages in my life, especially when I was younger that I would mock anyone who called me pretty or cute or anything at all. I remember wearing long shorts and an orange shirt when I was asked to be the muse of a basketball team in high school, resembling a distraught tomboyish girl. I in all of my plainness, simply did not fit my then own definition of what beautiful was.
Growing up and soon surrounded by smart people, I still have not learned what exactly constituted a beautiful person. Was it simply what was inside? After all that was what they said, right. Being mabait and all that. But I had doubts. Was it the proper proportions and clear skin? Nah, that's too superficial. I started finding out who I was and knowing my capabilities that I started to feel comfortable in my own skin. It was only until then that I had learned that I found people who were most comfortable with their own skin the most beautiful. I found that people who inspired kindness and goodwill to me were the most beautiful than any other clear-skinned mestiza that I know. It was them who would not put you down, it was them who would raise you higher, those without insecurities, that I found extremely beautiful. And I had willed upon myself to strive to become just that.
Now that I am 25, I can't say I have fully fulfilled my self mandates of just being myself and being comfortable in my own skin. Sure, a number of people have regarded me as a beautiful person {I am not that self-deprecating to not acknowledge that} and I'm truly grateful. One of my favorite authors {Ms. Guiliano} said that you can only measure yourself against the metrics or goals that you've set for yourself and for once, just for freaking once, I like what I am, I like who I've become and I am excited for who I will be.
And if you ever are wondering what brought this on, it's all Sasha's fault, for making me realize we are all beautiful in our own right. Thank you, S! There's so much in you that I or any other person give you credit for. You seriously are one of the most beautiful people I have met and become friends with.
Inspired Pretty, Passionate Powerful. I'm not posting this because I'm in this video {Okay, maybe I am, harhar} but truly, when I watched it, I got to know two other women who embody my definition of beautiful. Two content, happy women who knows what they want, and went for it. When I'm in my 30s and 60s, they are going to be my life pegs. Beauty, therefore is inspiring. Sometimes it inspires kindness. Sometimes, goodwill. Sometimes power.
And to answer the original question: Being beautiful is not a curse. It's a blessing.
Stay beautiful, my loves.
Photo taken by: Sasha Manuel
I was dumbfounded. Being the queen of gab, at least to my set of friends, being dumbfounded is as rare as lunar eclipses.
She, asking me this particular question posed another question: Did I feel beautiful enough to answer that?
I have to admit it's not like that I have felt this comfortable in my own skin since time immemorial. I remember having awkward stages in my life, especially when I was younger that I would mock anyone who called me pretty or cute or anything at all. I remember wearing long shorts and an orange shirt when I was asked to be the muse of a basketball team in high school, resembling a distraught tomboyish girl. I in all of my plainness, simply did not fit my then own definition of what beautiful was.
Growing up and soon surrounded by smart people, I still have not learned what exactly constituted a beautiful person. Was it simply what was inside? After all that was what they said, right. Being mabait and all that. But I had doubts. Was it the proper proportions and clear skin? Nah, that's too superficial. I started finding out who I was and knowing my capabilities that I started to feel comfortable in my own skin. It was only until then that I had learned that I found people who were most comfortable with their own skin the most beautiful. I found that people who inspired kindness and goodwill to me were the most beautiful than any other clear-skinned mestiza that I know. It was them who would not put you down, it was them who would raise you higher, those without insecurities, that I found extremely beautiful. And I had willed upon myself to strive to become just that.
Now that I am 25, I can't say I have fully fulfilled my self mandates of just being myself and being comfortable in my own skin. Sure, a number of people have regarded me as a beautiful person {I am not that self-deprecating to not acknowledge that} and I'm truly grateful. One of my favorite authors {Ms. Guiliano} said that you can only measure yourself against the metrics or goals that you've set for yourself and for once, just for freaking once, I like what I am, I like who I've become and I am excited for who I will be.
In that sense, I am free to say I'm beautiful. Or pretty. Or however you'd like to look at it.
And if you ever are wondering what brought this on, it's all Sasha's fault, for making me realize we are all beautiful in our own right. Thank you, S! There's so much in you that I or any other person give you credit for. You seriously are one of the most beautiful people I have met and become friends with.
Beautiful Girl | INXS
This is my ultimate I-want-to-feel-pretty-song.
Inspired Pretty, Passionate Powerful. I'm not posting this because I'm in this video {Okay, maybe I am, harhar} but truly, when I watched it, I got to know two other women who embody my definition of beautiful. Two content, happy women who knows what they want, and went for it. When I'm in my 30s and 60s, they are going to be my life pegs. Beauty, therefore is inspiring. Sometimes it inspires kindness. Sometimes, goodwill. Sometimes power.
Video taken and edited by Sasha Manuel
Oo na, I'm so maarte. And I'm so crushing on that Pretty Powerful palette from Bobbi Brown.
But if I had a peg of who's beautiful physically, that would be, the one and only, Anne Hathaway: