I just want to show my kids, especially my daughter, that how you wake up in the morning, not have any makeup on, or wearing your hair natural (curly for me..) is still very much beautiful!
Yes, woman are extremely beautiful with the right lighting, smoothed skin, brightened eyes, skin toned... all the filters out there are wonderful. And it's OK to create the image you want to present to the world, or capture a magazine quality shot every now and then.
However, it's also important to remind the very same world that we are human. That we can be genuine, and love ourselves and each other from the inside out! We can't ONLY be happy and feel good, or even get attention, when we look our greatest or are on top of our game.
I do agree, taking care of yourself and looking good and feeling good, go hand in hand.
But knowing who you are, being authentic, and not afraid to be THE REAL YOU in every aspect is an important example for our next generation. There is enough of "fake" in the rest of the world, everywhere you turn! And Social media puts a ton of pressure on everyone to "BE" a certain way, "HAVE certain things, or "DO" what everyone else is doing.
I want my children to know that we are also very beautiful when our eyelashes can barely be seen, our eye brows are thinning, we have bags under our eyes from not sleeping with too much worry, our face is blotchy, our hair is a mess, we are bloated, feeling too skinny, too fat, too curvy or too flat!
We're mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, best friends, team mates, coaches, employees, bosses, outgoing, shy, rich, poor, in between, drive Range Rovers, Kias, Toyotas, live in apartments, small, medium or big homes, went to college, didn't go to college, have a degree, don't have a degree, are artsy, creative, or mathematical, scientific, into music, dance or books, cook or don't cook, keep our house casual, messy, or perfectly clean and organized ...
Whatever roads we choose, options we have, lifestyles we create, do for a living, can or can not provide... WE ARE WOMEN. Loving, caring, nurturing by nature - WOMEN. Hormonal, moody, have ups and downs. Happy, sad. Energetic, tired. Confident, scared. WOMEN! Fun, loving, crazy, or sometimes simply a pain in the ass... PERFECTLY IMPERFECT... WOMEN!
Love yourself, love your family, love your neighbors and remember, it's ok to be the real you, just as God created you...and said " THIS IS GOOD!"
You are MORE than enough!
Today I present you, the REAL ME! (no filter, poor lighting, - pics... just BEcause.)
One Love, Christine DerOhannesian
Thanks for writing tthis