#loveyourSELFIE
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We grow up in this society.
This society that says, #loveyourSELFIE.
But how are we truly supposed to be happy with the way we look
When we're surrounded by the magazines with those skinny little models on the front?
We grow up in this society,
This society that makes us hate what we see when we look in the mirror
Because we aren't pretty enough, we're not skinny enough, we don't have enough makeup in the world to cover up all of our flaws.
#loveyourSELFIE is a dying cause.
The paradox of this society is that we are more connected than ever.
Only now can you see what all of your friends had for lunch in a matter of seconds.
But the truth of this society is that we are the most disconnected society, the most fragmented society, the most splintered, cropped and edited people in history.
And we had to grow up like this.
People look at me weird because I have violet colored hair
And I like to dance whether it's on a stage or in my chair.
I wear a lot of makeup like any other teenage girl and although I wish I could say it isn't true,
I use filters a lot too.
Twitter and facebook and instagram control our lives,
But if we put that on pause we can see it's all lies.
Beauty comes from within.
From the ones who know what it's like to be torn down until they feel like there's nothing left but then somehow, someone comes along and picks them up and puts them back together.
Beauty is crying yourself to sleep at night.
Beauty is the dream that keeps you moving throughout the day.
Beauty is the dime that you gave when you didn't have a penny for the many beautiful things we do in life.
Beauty is the way that you sing loud in the shower or the car and
Beauty is the way you dance to your own beat.
Beauty is you.
You are the beauty in the world.
But the reason we don't feel like it is because people keep telling us that it's okay to not use filters, except when we don't they comment on how rough we look.
Magazines tell us that we should love our body and then put an ad underneath it of a beautiful model that is too small to be considered healthy.
It leads to anorexia, bulimia, depression, you name it.
We've got it.
Why are we pushing #loveyourSELFIE away?
Shouldn't we let it stay?
Try it on for size.
Do whatever makes you happy.
Dream big, laugh often, give out as much love as you dare.
Say whatever comes to your mind, who is really going to care?
If we weren't so afraid of what others would think,
We would be much happier, could happen before you blink.
So I challenge you, for today and tomorrow and every day after that,
To see the beauty in the world around us.
To see the beauty in yourself.
To throw away the magazine.
To look in the mirror and say, "I am gorgeous. Somebody loves me."
Because we are so loved beyond our comprehension.
I say we take the #loveyourSELFIE challenge.
We #nofliter everything we post.
And we learn to love ourselves.
Because we are worth loving.