| February 7th, 2018

Um Um Good

By: journeymagazine

By| Jaclyn Harold

Weave or natural curls, you are still beautiful girl.

Beauty is not determined only by what you look like on the outside, which is a cliché but it is true.

“By loving myself unconditionally and embracing the way God created me. That reminds me that I am beautiful,” said Kathleen Bien-Aime, a senior biology student from Pompano Beach FL.

“I used to think that new clothes and hair would make me feel beautiful, but with all of those things, the same feelings of insecurity would still arise. Nothing can make me beautiful when I already am,” she continued.

Social media has created an avenue for people all over the world to post and share their lives with strangers. Through this platform that originally served the purpose of connecting and staying connected, millennials have molded the purpose into a “who’s living a better type of competition.

Instagram creates models; but these are just regular girls and women who have mastered the art of selfies and lighting. When you see them, you see their physical beauty, which we all have.

What you don’t see often is when they first wake up before they put a comb to their heads or toothpaste in their mouth, that one moment when everyone is typically a little unattractive. You don’t see much of their personality other than what they post for you to see.Which is an act right?

When you’re the natural you, that’s not acting for social media or enhancing your features for a night out. When you aren’t trying to eat neatly or change who you are to accommodate the environment that you’re in; that’s when you’re the most beautiful. Those uncensored imperfect moments when you aren’t “trying” you’re just being exactly who you are. That’s beauty. Anyone can take a selfie. Everyone can get their makeup done. What no one else can do is be you.

“I think a fresh wash, curls poppin and standing in my mirror is when I feel most beautiful” said Stephanie Colter, a graduate student in the doctorate program for biostatistics. “When I’m the natural me, or when my amazing man is regularly reminding me is when I feel pretty beautiful as well,” she adds.

Does Beauty start in the brain or the heart.

What makes you feel good? A question posed for evaluating the attractions we find in ourselves:

“I do not know if it is a feeling, but when I get up in the morning and I look into the bathroom mirror at myself, I feel beautiful,” said Jasmeka Colvin third year Medical student Florida State University (FSU).

“Sometimes it is right when I wake up and I tell myself you are beautiful in the skin you are in. Other times, it is after I have brushed my teeth and washed my face, and I notice the progress my skin has made to where I do not have to feel insecure about leaving home without makeup. Sometimes it is after I have beat my face. Overall, my feeling good starts when I am looking in the mirror and my smile appears because of what I see. If I am full of flaws of flawlessly sculpted, I am beautiful.”

“A freshly washed face. New WEAVE. Seeing the growth in my natural hair, anything self-related makes me feel beautiful. Overcoming any obstacles or self-doubt that I may have about a situation. Achieving any goals that I set for myself. Noticing my personal growth and being able to accept that even my flaws are beautiful because they make me unique. A person’s reaction after I have finished their hair are all things that make me feel good and beautiful- physically, mentally and emotionally” said Tiffany Dryden a Registered Respiratory Therapist and hairstylist in Atlanta GA.

“Getting dressed up and made up makes me feel prettier than normal, but money makes me feel good,” said Ch’Rae Pitts a Florida A&M University Alumnae.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” leads one to believe that the person observing is the deciding factor of what is beautiful in their sight. That does not mean their visions is absolute. Beauty comes with confidence. Feeling good is a choice that’s made even when the world seems to be working against you.  

Make the choice to feel good, and be confident in the different states of your beauty.