Feeling Good vs. Looking Good

Sometimes the most inspirational things are in the simplest words. My husband made a comment to me the other night that really touched me and I realized how simple our conversation was but how much a few words effected me. He said "It's more important to feel good than to look good." I'm sure that if you are reading this and you are a woman, at some point in your life or most of your life self esteem and confidence is a hard thing to deal with. It is definitely something that has given me grief more than once. When I started doing hair I was so engulfed in a world of nothing but physical beauty. Hair, skin, nails, clothes, body image. All of these things were basically shoved down my throat. I was always reading "hollywood" magazines, Cosmo etc. I got to a point that when I would read these things I always ended up feeling crappier by the time I was done. I picked myself apart constantly and compared what I looked like to what I thought I should look like. Even down to whether or not I was having sex right. I found that my self esteem and self confidence was going down the toilet. I noticed also how often I would have clients come to get their hair done and I was bombarded with pictures of celebrities that the client wanted to look like. Honestly, this is my own professional opinion but people can't just pick a hairstyle cause it's cute on Jennifer Aniston and expect it to work and look the same on them. Topics of conversation were always centered around what is going on in Hollywood and if I had a wishing well at my station I'm sure I would be rich based on nothing more than unrealistic wishes. I decided to make a packed with myself that I would no longer read "hollywood", follow "hollywood" or associate myself with any more of its trash. I found that I felt better about who I was and what was on the outside. Being skinny is not as important as being healthy, having long hair is  no better than having short, my face was a blank pallet and there is no right or wrong way to wear makeup. It's ok to have some cellulite, smile lines, a zit, no makeup, flat hair, wear slippers all day with pajamas that don't match and my Victoria's Secret is granny panties and a sports bra. To this day, I have no idea what's going on in "Hollywood". I don't care what the new fashion phenomenon is, to me it's whatever I feel comfy in. I don't care who is dating/married/divorced/cheating/rehab/arrested/DUI/Hot/Not in Hollywood. I have an indescribably wonderful husband who loves me for who I am and tells me everyday how beautiful I am just the way I am. Don't get me wrong, feeling beautiful on the outside is important but only if your beautiful in your own eyes. Sometimes is hard but I try each day to cherish the body that I am in and the beauty I have been given. 

I strongly feel that Hollywood is corrupt. It teaches young girls who are discovering themselves inside and out that they are nothing unless they look a certain way, act a certain way and be somebody other than who they truly are, grown women worrying about stretch marks, wrinkles or a little weight gain. It's never about so n so doing something honorable and respectable. Its about who's going to jail, who got drunk and did something stupid, who's going to rehab for the 3rd time, who's involved is some sort of love triangle. These are the reasons that we want to follow these people's lives? These are the people that we are supposed to admire and look  up to? There are some stories that are worth hearing and some people that are worth being famous for their work and acts of kindness. If all you have to do to be rich and famous is act like a clown, I will pass. I put a challenge out there to women who feel this way to put down the hollywood smut and look inside your heart and find who you truly are. Spread your beauty in whatever way you feel beautiful. Compliment each other from a sincere place in your heart and lets start seeing the true beauty inside each other. Lets be strong, confident and let our lights shine bright. Admire people who are worth being admired. Hard work that is passionate and alive, kindness that brings a tear to your eye and beauty that is natural and graceful. Nothing is more admirable that someone who has found their own beauty, helping someone else find theirs. It's more important to feel good than look good and to me this means it's more important to have a sound and peaceful mind, have a body that is healthy and strong and a spirit that lifts moods and brightens rooms rather than a fashion trend or at the minute beauty remedy or expensive clothes. It's ok to buy a shirt at Walmart and even more that you got it on the $3 clearance rack. It's ok to buy a lipstick or eyeshadow at the Dollar Store, if you like it thats reason enough and hey its a dollar.  It's ok to still pluck your eyebrows and shave your bikini line and if they get a little unkempt and out of control that's ok too. Its ok to have some regrowth or split ends and chipped nail polish even a little cottage cheese areas. These are the things that say so much more, I got a deal, I enjoyed an extra scoop of ice cream, I was busy reading a book, working with my hands in the yard or I just didn't feel like it today. It's ok to be you and to be everything that makes you, you.