Who are you to tell me that I'm less than what I should be?

I am one of the hundreds of thousands of girls who struggle with self esteem and self image. Did you know that on average, a teenage girl sees over 400 advertisements PER DAY that suggest, however subtly, that a girl must have a certain 'look' or 'image' to be considered beautiful? That's just ridiculous! Why is it that in order to be 'pretty' one must be thin, with perfect teeth, piercing eyes, and long, flowing hair? Surely those attributes ARE beautiful, but why on earth should they be the ONLY ones that are? I am so very, very tired of the media projecting this idea to teens [guys and girls, though the guys don't have as much emphasis put on appearances] that they need to be a certain way in order to be accepted, to be beautiful. The Bible says that beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. If only that were still an accepted idea!

Weight is the most contested factor among people today. Is fat beautiful? Do I need to lose 10 pounds? Do these jeans make my butt look big? And why is that? Because the media tells us that we should be 5'7'' and 120 lbs. in order to be pretty. Shows on TV like How to Look Good Naked, The Biggest Loser, Dance Your Ass Off, More To Love (the Bachelorette for 'fat' people), etc., suggest to us that we have to be skinny to be acceptable! These kind of shows also create a gap between people who are "skinny" and "fat". They suggest that women with more to love have to have their own version of The Bachelorette because they aren't in the same category as thin women and don't have any business being with the men who are paired with the thin women. It just infuriates me that women walk around feeling as though they are not beautiful, simply because they do not have 'the look'. Read Song of Solomon. Our Father sculpted and molded every single part of our bodies. He looks at us and sees a beautiful creation that he is PROUD of. Think about the thing in your life that you are most proud of. That thing that you look at and think, "Wow. I MADE that. I did that! It is so cool!" THAT is how your Father feels when he looks at you. He takes pride in who you are AND what you look like, because he designed it himself. The creator of the universe DESIGNED YOU. Who is society to tell you that His design isn't good enough or that His design for someone else is better? The Lord made each person different. To some he gave thinner bodies, to others, he gave 'more to love'. To some he gave piercing, blue eyes, and to others, soft brown. We are all different, and THAT is beautiful. Why on earth would we want to look the same? In HIS eyes, we have beauty beyond compare. Who is society to contest GOD and tell us we need to change ourselves in order to be beautiful? I would much rather be beautiful to God than to society.

BarlowGirl said it well in their song, Mirror:

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, Have I got it?
'Cause Mirror you've always told me who I am.
I'm finding it's not easy to be perfect.
So sorry, you won't define me.
Sorry, you don't own me.

Who are you to tell me
That I'm less than what I should be?
Who are you? Who are you?
I don't need to listen
To the list of things I should do
I won't try, I won't try.

Mirror I am seeing a new reflection.
I'm looking into the eyes of
He who made me.
And to Him I have beauty beyond compare.
I know He defines me.

You don't define me, you don't define me.