You are Beautiful

This was written by someone by the name of Nathan Crenshaw. I don't know him personally but you can read his blog here. I advise that you do. I'm betting you'll enjoy it.
I happened to come across this link on Facebook and fell in love with it. Every girl on this planet needs to read this. She deserves to read this...

You are Beautiful

February 26, 2011

I think women are beautiful. Not just a few of you, most of you. At very least I see the potential each of you has to unlock your own “beautiful.” I don’t feel bad about the remaining few females, because I know other guys will find them extremely attractive. It all evens out.

Imagine my shock when I learned that only 3% of American women see themselves as beautiful. More than four times as many confess to feeling significantly less-attractive than most other women. What?!? Where did they find such a collection of self-loathing mirror-crackers? But no, the study was well run, international in scope, and very consistent. Worse, asking my most beautiful friends if they felt beautiful usually revealed the same answer: no.

So tonight, you ladies get a full dose of the lLama.

Wow. Do you have any idea just how gorgeous you are? Drag your pretty face over to a mirror and take a long look. Are we seeing the same thing? I drive past you on the street while you’re out running, sweaty and red-faced, and I have an almost physical pain in my chest. “Good grief. If this is her exercising, what does she look like when she tries?” I see you in church, and I can’t focus on the hymns because I’m admiring your hair. Your eyes are like clear water, and your smile is like a warm breeze. You are so beautiful that I have a hard time breathing in your presence. If I could ever convince a girl like you to love me, I could die happy.

If I haven’t personally thought all of those things about you, I can promise ten other men have. At least ten. Keep looking in the mirror until you start to see that person.

TV and ads have implanted a false idea of “beauty” in your mind. There isn’t a standard set of features you have to meet. You don’t have to be blonde, have Photoshopped skin, or get plastic surgery to become beautiful. Beautiful lives in infinite varieties and combinations in very normal people. You are the standard of beauty, because you combine attractive physical features with a unique personality and talents to match. The combination is breathtaking. I wouldn’t know what to compare it against except…you.

I’m always dismayed when girls divide out their features and explain to me what is imperfect about each one: Eyes are too big, fingers are too long, nose is too short, etc., etc., etc.. Really? How can you possibly believe any of this? I can look in your eyes for hours and never get bored. Your nose is sensible and perfectly complements your face. And I really (really) want to hold your fingers between mine.

Furthermore, you’re built entirely in soft curves! When you walk past a Ferrari, the Ferrari is jealous. The curves in your eyes, your cheeks, your chin, your shoulders and arms, and especially your womanly parts. God designed you with every one of those curves to be beautiful and attractive. It was deliberate. Smile and accept it. It’s not vanity to call yourself beautiful; it’s gratitude for your birthright as a woman.

The secrets to being beautiful are not extraordinary. They are, in fact, perfectly ordinary: Be happy, and take care of yourself. Happiness unlocks everything good inside you and lets it radiate through your entire being. Choose to be the best kind of happy, and you will always be the best kind of beautiful. Taking care of your body will become a natural part of your happiness. Shower because it feels happy. Style your hair because that’s the natural thing to do with a head as gorgeous as yours. Live healthy because that’s the way to treat a beautiful body. If you’ve been slacking in your happiness or your physical care, get on it. Doing the work won’t make you beautiful–since you already are–it will simply unlock your beauty and allow you to see what’s already there.

You aren’t average. You aren’t just on the pretty side of average. You are beautiful. Live it and love it. If any man tries to tear you down, criticize your features, or make you feel un-beautiful, you shut him down immediately. “I am beautiful,” you’ll tell him, “And if you can’t believe that, I’m gone.” Don’t give him a second warning. Every girl deserves a companion who believes she is unbearably beautiful. Then doesn’t it make sense that every girl should start out by taking time to love herself and love her body?

I wish you could see your beauty like I do.