Recently I just finished reading the Anne of Green Gables collection. It was one of my favorite books. In many ways, Anne embodies the modern-day woman. She wants to fit in, belong, be loved and she loves a good romance. I think we all have a little bit of Anne in us. At least I know I have a little Anne in me. One of the first things you learn about Anne is that she is a dramatic, charismatic little girl with a great misconception of how "handsome" a girl should look. She, herself, does not fit that image and therefore frets and obsesses over her appearance every day, even at one time refusing to say her prayers because God gave her, her red hair :) which she hates.
Our media today has given us the unreal and silly expectation of how we should and should not look. I cringe every time a see a swimsuit issue of a magazine or see a tabloid with a picture of a pregnant and way too skinny mommy- to- be on the cover. Seriously? What gets me, is I once saw an interview with a celebrity who recently had a baby saying that the baby weight was coming off and she was down to a size six but her goal was to drop down to a size two. Okay. Size six? Not that big. She looked fantastic! If the camera added ten pounds you definitely could not tell. PLEASE!!!! GET OVER IT!!!! Let's focus on being healthy people and feeling good about you and not trying to please unreal expectations. Really, no one cares as much as we do. But don't get me wrong I am not opposed to working out, I myself try to get in a good workout at least three times a week. It makes me feel good even if I hate actually doing it, but I am doing it for me and no one else. Sometimes it is hard to not get wrapped up in the image of "perfection" that is screamed out from all directions in our society. In the end it comes back to what beauty is to you. Here are a few life lessons in being beautiful that I learned from reading about Anne-girl.
Smart is Better Than Beauty
In Anne of Green Gables, Diana Barry (Anne's bosom buddy) tells her about Charlie Sloane having a crush on her, "Charlie Sloane is dead gone on you. He told his mother — his mother, mind you — that you were the smartest girl in school. That's better than being good-looking." Yes, smarts, in all forms is way better than being "beautiful". I feel good when I look good, it is true, but I feel wonderful about myself when I have learned a new skill. I feel so much more accomplished and fulfilled! Do what you do and do it well, weather you excel in scrap booking, web design, or even doing your dishes, that makes you beautiful! I love seeing people who love what they do and do it with perfection! It makes them a much more appealing person with much more to offer, in my opinion. Really I don't care how much you weigh, what kind of car you have, how your house looks, or if you have traveled the world, I care about having genuine kind people as friends who find happiness in every day life and who are passionate about the things and people they love :) When I am on my death-bed I don't think I will be thinking too much about my looks, I hope that I will think of the good things I did for others and about all the things I learned while living.
Find something you like about yourself... and don't compare yourself to others!!!
"She looks just as I've always wanted to look," thought Anne miserably. "Rose-leaf complexion-starry violet eyes, raven hair, yes she has them all. It's a wonder her name isn't Cornelia Fitzgerald into the bargain! But I don't believe her figure is as good as mine, and her nose certainly isn't." Anne despises her name, red hair, freckles, and skinny frame. Throughout the book she is always finding beauty in others with no regard to any of her charming attributes which I, personally, love about her. She is charismatic, funny, charming, and compassionate and has a nice nose! All to often I've compared myself to someone else, always loosing the competition and I always will. Life is not a competition and if you busy yourself trying to keep up with "her" you will wear yourself out because there will always be someone who has something better than you (and you have things that are better than they!)
Be grateful for what you do have
"Marilla, Jane Andrews told me that Minnie MacPherson told her that she heard Prissy Andrews tell Sara Gillis that I had a very pretty nose.Marilla, that is the first compliment I have ever had in my life and you can't imagine what a strange feeling it gave me." Anne eventually comes to love the shape of her nose, and eventually her hair even turns auburn another good thing for her. We can't always change things about our appearances, but we can love what we do have. For me, I love my eyes, smile, cheekbones and shoulders, I wouldn't want them any other way!!!! When I was younger my mother told me I had nice feet, I grew up really liking my feet :) When I struggled with weight gain from the antidepressants I was taking as a teen, one of the only things I liked about myself were my feet! You can love yourself (or in my case, parts of myself) even if you are not perfect.
So I guess what I am saying is you can be pretty without weighing 90 pounds, having botox and tons of lipo, without starving, without being perfect at every new hobby you attempt or having the brand new IPad. Insecurity is part of life and I think part of being a woman but just know that you can be pretty as your average scrap-booking, diaper- changin, laundry-doing, dish-washing, plain-Jane self. :)
