Category: Authenticity, Self Compassion, Self Acceptance, The Best You, Spread the Movement
Something I’ve struggled with for years is to simply be me. What I mean by this is discovering who I am, embracing my imperfect self, having the courage to follow my heart and forgiving my faults to move forward so that I can become the best version of myself. I always felt like something was missing though; as if the effort I was putting into becoming this (almost) perfect person wasn’t enough.
My boyfriend Hoan told me about a time when he was at a conference and the speaker asked a room full of women, “Who in here truly believes they are drop dead gorgeous?” Guess how many ladies raised their hand? One. ONE. I was appalled but the other side of me understood why because I know I would have been among the women who kept their hands to themselves. In that moment– my heart broke.
When I first met Hoan, I noticed he was always telling me how beautiful I am. It caught me off guard every time because apart of me was too afraid to believe it, like I wasn’t worthy of such compliments. Each time I would blush and mumble a heartfelt thank you… almost under my breath because I was so flattered yet in such shock and disbelief that someone believed I was beautiful.
One night without fail my boyfriend said, “Anh Thu, you are absolutely beautiful.” Again, I would respond blushing and say, “…Thank you.” This time though, I explained that apart of me was too afraid to see myself this way because I wouldn’t be able to keep up the “beautiful” standard. He continued to explain and said it was my heart that makes me beautiful but it doesn’t become whole until I realize it myself. After going back and forth he wanted to hear me say, “I am beautiful,” and feel the confidence and belief in my voice. So I said it a couple times but on the last occasion, I heard myself say it and thought he’s right, You are beautiful Anh Thu. –It was in this moment that I realized beauty is not about good looks or having a good heart, it’s truly about embracing and being confident in the imperfect, beYOUitful person that you are.
Hoan is confident I am beautiful and sometimes we just need one person to believe in us, for us to believe it ourselves. I thought back to the room full of women and realized, the next time someone asks a room full of women whether or not they think they’re beautiful, my dream is to see every hand in that room begin to rise with confidence and conviction. Therefore, I hope I can be that one person who believes in you because let’s face it… you are simply beYOUtiful.
Simply beYOUtiful,
Anh Thu
