Transit Dialog has published my article, Beautiful for Me. Here it is:
“𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.”
𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲
𝘉𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴
I was once told that I am neither pretty or ugly. It was an unfortunate remark from a man who went on a date with me once. I never went out with him again, and I am now in a relationship with someone who finds me beautiful.
I was born to a family of tall and attractive people. I am not tall, and I am not classically beautiful. This reality has made me insecure.
Like most adolescents, I turned to my interests to compensate for my insecurities. As the years passed and I became a published author, I learned that people may be visual and notice imagery at the onset. However, first impressions are simply that — impressions.
There is more to life than being attractive. I built my career on my writing skills, and not through being beautiful. So, I became less insecure as I proved to myself that being a good person and a skillful worker are the key factors to getting ahead in life.
When I started dating, I observed that men would go for the beautiful ones. Dating apps made this more challenging for me. There were men who called me ugly. Good thing there is the option to block them. I dwelled on the fact that I was getting messages and comments that I was ugly left and right. But then, I learned that these comments reflected on their own insecurities rather than who I really am. So, I moved on, until I found the partner that I am with now.
Being beautiful is more than just what the world can see. My books get published because my original ideas resonate with others. I enjoy life because I try to be a good person, and I get everything that I share with others in return.
I am the best version of myself because I continuously work on myself. My life is far from perfect and my loved ones can attest to the fact that I have bad days every now and then. But I pick myself up and remind myself that I have come this far because I never gave up on myself.
Some people may criticize me for being over-confident. I beg to disagree. I think that beauty lies in the beholder, but it is more important to value your own beauty first. Rather than solely prioritizing beauty on the outside, we should all prioritize our inner beauty, too.
Education, not our looks, can make us qualified for a job. Being a good person can let us help ourselves and others in need. Loving ourselves can enable us to help ourselves and make us attractive to others. And being able to change the world by being kind can give us our own place in a cruel and judgmental world.
Take it from me, I was told by people that I was ugly, unattractive, and basically nothing. But I chose to listen to myself first and I kept going on. I chose to be beautiful for me.
I am beautiful for me because I know the value of education and hard work. I am beautiful for me because I know that relationships are built on trust and effort. I am beautiful for me because I believe in myself and the goodness of my heart. I may not be beautiful for everyone, but I do not mind that. That is already beyond my control.
The only thing that I control is my own self-perception. And for me, I am beautiful inside and out.
Source: Transit Dialog