If You Ever Want To Feel Beautiful

If you ever want to feel beautiful, go to a cartoon artist. Usually, they exaggerate the features that naturally stand out the most; but the trick is to make conversation with the artist. When you make conversation, they know a little more about your personality and reflect it in the drawing; I mean, look at this portrait of my friends and me. 

Complete replicas of ourselves!!

Yeah, not really! And it’s fair since the artist only has a few minutes to draw you. He will only use how you physically look and his artistic talent to make a cartoon version of yourself. 

But maybe if your best friend is an artist, you can ask her to draw you. Surely if they know you well, they will have an easier time reflecting on your true self. Here is how my friend drew me once.

Digital Alterations Equals Perfection?

Hmm, let’s try something else. How about facetune apps? Could it be that digitally editing a picture would guarantee a more accurate depiction and make you feel more beautiful?

Here is how an app made me look:

Well, I’m not sure if you will feel more beautiful with any of the above options as they all require some alteration to your nature, but you might get some good laughs out of it!!!

But how about physically modifying how we look by how we dress? I mean, who doesn’t love trying on new clothes? Maybe many people don’t, but society tells us that buying the latest trends and posing with good lighting will get us the most likes, right? Surely that will make us feel beautiful. 

It’s All Fake, Isn’t It?

Oh, wait! There’s a catch to this. Since everyone is buying the same clothes, it is hard to stand out. The trick is to look, somehow, unique. 

So maybe you won’t feel beautiful when you see that your post competes for likes with people more daring and creative. Darn!

What I’m getting at is that one may never feel beautiful, no matter how many digital or physical alterations one consults. 

Maybe, just maybe, beauty truly is subjective. Could it be that no magic mirror exists to tell us who the fairest of them all is? Are our current standards of beauty distorted? 

Here is where I come in to question why there is a desire to feel beautiful in the first place. When do other people’s opinions begin to matter? I’d highly encourage you to stop listening to the outcries of the world and instead focus on the gentle whispers that Our Lord breaths forth upon your heart. 

We Are Made in God’s Image

The world tells us to be picture-perfect every second of our life, but the Lord says in 1 Peter 3:3-4, 

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth is God’s sight.” 

Please don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look our best, but we should not obsess with the idea of reaching perfection with our looks—mostly because it will never happen. No matter how much you try to hide your “uneven” skin with makeup or your body with shape-ware, you will always be slapped with reality when everything comes off. This does not mean the reality is bad; instead, I think our perception of perfection is stained.   

If there is no health hazard, why try so hard to hide our uniqueness? Embrace those quirks and know that we are God’s masterpiece made wonderfully and fearfully, even though we are not perfect.

Jesus loves us for what’s in our hearts and what our love can do for those He loves! 

I sometimes wonder why we are so quick to say, ” wow, I look ugly,” when glancing at the mirror but failing to give thanks for this gift of life. I’ve complained too many times about wishing I had lighter and less puffy eyes, a toned body, a bit taller, and the list goes on. But I can probably count the times I’ve been grateful for having good health or for going to bed with a full stomach.

We All Have Bad Days

Not a single day went by in high school that I did not wear mascara— that is as far as my makeup abilities take me. However, during my first year of university, I decided never to wear makeup again because I wanted to look ugly intentionally! And in my mind, that meant not wearing makeup. 

There are a couple of things wrong with the mentality I was having. As you will soon realize, I had substantial immature tantrums that led me in the wrong direction. In hindsight, my actions make sense. I was hurting and wanted to be accepted somewhere while I was feeling worthless. I wanted to be loved, but my natural inclination in times of stress and pain is to isolate myself from everyone and everything.  

But let me tell you, this only worsens things, so please don’t do it! It is a devastating feeling.

My defense mechanism was to make sure I looked outwardly distasteful. That way, I would not be attracting anyone to myself. I wanted to be alone. I didn’t care for new friendships or any relationships. Looking back on it, it was my young self’s way of protecting myself from ever feeling mistrust again. 

Anyway, the story gets gloomier from there onwards, but what matters for this post is that eventually, thanks to God’s mercy, I found my worth in Jesus Christ. That is something NO ONE can ever take away from you. 

The more I drowned myself in God’s word and took advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation, the more I could appreciate the words in Psalms 139:13-16, 

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!” 

It’s More Than a Feeling

Beauty is like love, more than just a feeling. You ARE beautiful, even if you don’t feel it to be true all the time. 

So, I can’t stop you from using filters, getting surgery, or contouring your bodies, but I would like to ask, does doing all that bring you closer to Our Lord? Does it make loving others easier? 

I’m not here to persuade you to adopt a particular fashion style; you can make your own choices. However, I suggest you keep in mind that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). If Jesus is at the center of your life, do your style choices reflect that?

In short, if you ever want to feel beautiful, ask God to show you how He sees you at your best and worst. I have faith that you will eventually appreciate every inch of yourself. 

Not wearing makeup was one of the choices that helped me empty myself and make room for the Holy Spirit to drown me with His gifts. 

St. Rose of Lima, 

Please pray that I, like you, remember to love God above all. May my vanity escape my soul so the Holy Spirit can fill me with charity, hope, and faith. Obtain for me the grace to obtain a pure heart and vibrant confidence in the Holy Trinity above all the desires of this earth. 

Amen.

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