Cinderella had to dress up so that the Prince could see her inner beauty.
This quote by Ljupka Cvetanova hits home.
There are a lot of people who take pride in shaming women for caring & taking care of their looks.
It’s shallow and that it’s only the inner beauty is all that matters, they say.
A wishful thinking.
The reality is different.
From a very early age, I learnt that how you look, dress and carry yourself matters hugely.
I was laughed at and bullied at school for showing up in a skirt with stains or wearing my grandma’s old boots.
And that happened quite often.
It’s not fun being poor and living in a house without running water, and washing even the very limited garderobe of 5 children was a big operation (bringing the water, and so the firewood to heat the water).
I still feel that pain of humiliation.
I didn’t want that my siblings should experience the same so I early began to look after their outfits & looks.
You probably recall a recent viral video that got lots of reactions on FaceBook: demonstrating how the same child was treated depending on her looks.
The little girl got lots of kind attention, help, support and was cared for when she was dressed nicely in pretty clothes and ignored, rejected & pushed away when she appeared untidy in filthy, worn off clothes.
Just like you judge a book by its cover you judge others by their looks, and you are being judged by others of how you present yourself.
We all do this.
Often unconsciously.
Many of us don’t like to admit this and we don’t like that it is this way, but it’s the cruel reality.
So, therefore while I salute and am a big advocate for inner beauty, how you present yourself is super important.
Your makeup – or lack of it, hair & outfit are part of your self-expression.
How you look and carry yourself tells a story about you.
People who take care of their appearance are perceived as better, kinder and wiser.
The good thing is that you don’t have to be a supermodel – just take care and make the best out of what you have.
I think it’s part of self-loving & self-respect to take care of yourself.
Our appearance mirrors our relationship with ourselves and our inner beauty.
I like to remind you are born as an amazing piece of art and your looks are the frame of it.
So, for the sake of the better world, don’t listen to shamers.
Tell them to look into themselves, they have suppressed themselves and super dissatisfied and are triggered by anyone else who dares to like & celebrate themselves.
Don’t limit yourself to express who you truly are just to get a short approval from resentful limited individuals.
Have fun, dress up, walk tall and live your passions.