My Journey Towards This Thing We Call Beautiful (Part One)

Beauty is pain. Definitely. But it is certainly worth it. I mean, a little pain on the front-end awards me the approval of others, right? Beauty today isn't about the "inner you" like our Mom's try to preach to us. No, beauty is all in what you see.

My daily routine goes something like this: I wake up about two hours before I need to leave for school. Yes, I am tired, but it is more important to look drop-dead gorgeous than to sleep. Come on! That's what Starbucks is for! Anyways, I shower, blow dry and straighten my hair, pick out my outfit, and put on my make-up. No time for breakfast....I don't need the calories anyways. I am already around 115--yikes! I totally need to hit the gym after school for like a three hour work out!

Someone once said that "beauty is the promise of happiness." I believe that. Well, I think I do. You see, I am beautiful. That's what everyone says. I work for my beauty. I make sure I eat the right foods and buy all the right products. I live by the words of my magazines and covet the advice of popular celebrities. As far as I am concerned, I am on the journey towards this thing we call beautiful, but lately I have been having doubts. If beauty is the promise of happiness, then why am I not happy? Why am I not satisfied with the attention that my appearance demands? I have been so focused on how I appear on the outside, that I don't even know who I am on the inside. I know that when people see me, they only see my face. No one truly sees me for who I am. I actually enjoy photography, but no one knows that because they are too busy judging my appearance. I guess I have fallen into the same trap. I don't know who I am either. I let go of the things I want to do because I am obsessed with being perfect. I want to be flawless. And so far it seems as if I have done a pretty good job masking my imperfections, but that is really all that I have done. I have covered my imperfections so that no one can see my weaknesses. I am not really happy. If beauty is supposed to guarantee happiness, then why do I feel this way?

I am beautiful. It is time to put up the facade one more time. The prom queen never cries, right?

Thanks for reading part one of "My Journey Towards This Thing We Call Beautiful." Please note that while this is a fictional scenario, many young woman have this view of what beauty looks like. Throughout the next several posts, we will be discussing what true beauty is and what it really means to be considered "beautiful." Please keep your mind open to any new ideas that God may be putting in your heart. Many of us do have skewed views on this thing we call beauty. As I have been praying, God has shown me that there is only one way to successfully walk along life's "beauty trail." Stay tuned to learn more!