"just love yourself and you're set..."

if i had a white t-shirt in high school it would probably say a few things: fat girl, tall girl, dark girl.

kids these days are quite lucky to have tv shows like Glee who try their best to fight against bullying.

the main reason for this may also be due to the fact that bullying cases have increased in the past ten years.

but this blog entry is not for those facts.

it's just amazing that the issues that children face these days have not changed.

it's still about not being pretty enough, not being thin enough, not being chinita enough, not being white enough, or even at one point, also not being short enough.

and what's even worse is, nobody told me that i was okay the way i was, for some people i was okay until i *did something extreme to make me feel good about myself*.

during those dark years, i despised myself and only felt good when i had nothing but crackers to live on. i also colored my hair and avoided the sun at all costs so i can finally be mestiza like my sister (still one of the most beautiful people i know).

but even when i reached my goal for like three seconds, i never felt good about myself, simply because i was getting validation from people who were just as confused as i was.

what's worse was, nobody told me that it was okay to be who i was. everyone i talked to said, i would be okay when *insert something impossible here*

but that was never what it was.

these days being beautiful has nothing to do with being white, skinny, short, tall or chinita...

being beautiful is knowing whose I belong to. being beautiful is knowing who I am and being happy with who I am and being beautiful has a lot to do with seeing everyone i meet as beautiful in their own way too.

it's a fact that that the faults we see in others is what desperately try to hide in ourselves.

so just in case you're not feeling the best today, let me remind you that you are beautiful the way you are, you don't need to change anything about you.

and if someone tells you that you do have to change to be beautiful, then it's time to let go of that person and see yourself the way your Creator sees you: exceptionally beautifully, crafted perfectly and with a purpose.