Beauty and Me

This is me. No make-up. No nothing. All me.

Since I was a child I had often battled with insecurities. I was born here in the Philippines, in a place where almost everybody prizes white/fair skinned people and where the society is bombarded with advertisements about whitening products almost everyday.

To tell the truth, I hated myself. I hated the way I looked in pictures. I never believed my mother when she tells me that I am beautiful. To me, I was a freak who would never be pretty enough because I didn't have white skin, a perfect profile and a pointy nose.

But hey, that's me. I was born this way. And it's just now that I am learning to appreciate myself for who I am. I look at myself now and tell myself that I am beautiful for I have heart that knows how to love. I have arms who readily comfort others with hugs. I have eyes that see the beauty in others. I have a smile that can lift up other people's hearts.

And I wish, that if someone would love me, that they would love me for who I am. Not because of how I look but because of how I am as a whole person.

Perhaps we'll see. Nothing is impossible.

And I realize that no matter what I need to learn to love 'me'. It's not conceited nor is it shameful. I need to love myself for who I am. Because I was born this way, and God has made me this way.

I am beautiful because I am born to be.