Do you feel beautiful?

It's not a rhetorical question. I am truly asking you. There are a lot of women out there who do not see themselves as beautiful. That is why plastic surgery, weaves, false eye lashes, make up, and even heels were created. Someone decided to capitalize off of women's self-esteem issues.

There are so many underlying reason why women feel a certain type of way about their bodies. This could be due to the media portraying 104 lbs, 6 foot 3 women as the ideal beauty. Or rappers having these 5 foot 7, 130 lbs, big booty video vixens in their music videos. It could also be because someone in your life is telling you that you are not adequate enough (you do not need them in your life, by the way). Either way, there are so many reminders out there that if you do not fit a certain description, you are not attractive. 

I wish things like this did not exist. I wish people would stop telling others that they are not good enough. But mostly I wish that we would stop feeding into these lies. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. The most important thing one of my teachers told me in high school was, "The most important thing a girl wears is her confidence." It helped to shape me into the woman I am today. I may not be perfect, but at least my self esteem isn't an issue. 

However, that hasn't always been the case. There are so many casualties that result from this. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, suicide, cutting, and bulling are just a few. And many times, these result in death (duhh on the suicide bit). I cannot say that I didn't have my run through a few of these because I was teased in middle and high school for being so tiny and frail. I just thank God that I had a support system (I am so grateful for my mother and little sister) that would never allow me to justify taking my life. But there are so many girls, and even boys who aren't so lucky. 

I thank companies like Dove who have self esteem initiatives out there for women. I especially commend celebrities like TLC, Christina Aguilera, and Pink who use their music to inspire women to accept themselves for the way God made them, and move on with their life. Because you could have always turned out worse.