To any person who has ever felt less than attractive

So, I was driving back from Salt Lake, and was relentlessly bombarded by billboards signs trying to convince me to use lipo or remove varicose veins (or remove my mother's at least) or get rid of my baggy eyes. Frankly, it was embarrassing. Not for myself. I know I can always drop a couple pounds, I've had dark circles under my eyes since age 5, and I am even starting to get those red little spider veins across my legs. And you know what? I don't give a pile of horse manure. I am embarrassed for our society, which tells people that if they were thinner, younger looking, etc. etc. THEN they would be of more value. What a BIG. FAT. LIE. Seriously, why the heck does that even matter????? No wonder eating disorders are so common.

In this area of life, I miss Paraguay a ton. There, it didn't matter if you were a stick or had a gut, had hairy moles across your face, had an appendage missing, wore plaid shorts with a floral shirt, or had a white eye from blowing a firecracker in your face (which I saw on more than one occasion.) It just didn't matter. Yeah, people tried to make themselves look half-decent, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't a sick obsession like here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I miss that. I miss not needing to worry if my makeup melted off my face during the hot sweltering day, or if I wore black and brown together. Now, I DO like to perty myself up now after looking like a hobo for a year and a half, but that's because I like to, not because I feel like I need to.

The truth is, external beauty is not what makes you beautiful. I love the movie Shallow Hal. For those who haven't seen it, it's about a guy who sees people whose beauty reflects what their inner beauty is and he has no idea what they look like in real life, and he ends up dating this 500 lb girl. Fantastic movie.

                        

 I mean really, would you rather marry a gorgeous person who is a total jerk or a not-so-good-looking person who was not only nice, but talented, ambitious, or had any other combination of great qualities. Seriously people. We'll all get resurrected with fan-flippin'-tastic glorious bodies anyway, and we'll all get old and wrinkly and grey during our mortal probation. So, stop worrying about it. I mean, don't let yourself go or anything, but don't worry if you have an ugly day. Or week. Or year. It's okay.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for theLord ^aseeth not as ^bman seeth; for man looketh on the outward^cappearance, but the ^dLord looketh on the ^eheart."  1 Sam 16:7 


There you go. I think the scripture speaks for itself. But here are some more reassurances from popular media that actually have good messages. :)

Mika: Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)

 Joe Crocker: You Are So Beautiful