When I was in college, BYU, I had a really horrible break-up with a boyfriend and while working through it, I struggled a bit with the ol' self esteem. I think most girls go through this at one point in their life, right? no?
Well, this little bout of unhappiness brought with it some interesting journal entries, about 15 pounds, and a short sentence in a beauty magazine article that I have ceased to forget.
It said, very succinctly, 'pick your absolute favorite facial feature and accentuate it'. It babbled on about amping up your hair, popping your lips with a little color, etc.
My favorite facial feature is...are... my eyes. Not because I have a personal fetish with them, but because that is probably the single most talked about facial feature my Mom has pointed out to me since I was, well, a wee babe.
She loves them. And I inherited her love, if you will.
So, with the help of a little more eyeliner, I slowly regained my confidence. I say this flippantly because a.)it took/takes a lot more than silly eyeliner to tackle the Monster that is confidence and happiness, we all know this. And b.) my confidence is still a mountain I climb ~don't we all?~
Anyway.
About a year ago, my eyes started to fail me. Not in the 'you need glasses' sort of variety, but in the 'do you have pink eye?' sort of variety. Let me explain, at least to those of you who are still reading...
My brother, my uncle, and maybe a few more will speak up after I post this... have a bad case of chronically tired eyes. They are always red and irritated no matter how much sleep we get or how many eyelashes get stuck in them. Bumpy, red, irritated, and gross. (I've craftily removed the evidence of this in nearly every photo taken of me on the blog... so going back and looking won't do ya any good... but trust me, you're glad about this.)
And come to find out, the bumps don't go away, the redness can be masked but not removed, and all in all our gross eyes are here to stay.
You can imagine my sadness. I can officially add my eyes to the list of facial features I'm not-so-fond-of; long time place holders are my forehead and the bump on the bridge of my nose.
So now, we get to the point... reading the quote pictured above, you can imagine the joy I felt! HAPPY!
My eyes are my favorite part of me
Not for how they look
But for how they see.
I fell in love with that. I do love my eyes, and NOT for the way they look, but for the way they see.
Que the silly violin music :-)
Have a lovely weekend, guys.
May we all love ourselves for what we do and not for how we look.
Thanks for stickin' with me on this one ;-)
12 comments:
Of course I read every word of it, you know I love your thoughtful posts. I even gain wisdom and insight from my daughter. circle of life.
I really hate to see you dislike your eyes, they are absolutely fabulous and I never even notice the redness. couple of questions: aren't they cataracts? and they can be removed, they just may grow back....but you have good insurance, so ....
love you, and your final advice is essential because we all have physical flaws (that we capitalize more than we should)and if you don't have 'em yet, wait till you are my age. whooo, whatever you didn't like at 25 is now 6 inches lower.
I LOVE that quote and really loved this post...and you have BEAUTIFUL eyes :-)!
One of my favorite quotes of all time was in a children's book I read with the girls awhile back (I think I blogged about it)...
"Priscilla was soaring, she felt like a star, and if that's how you feel, then that's what you are."
Kind of along the same lines :-).
I love that quote and your insight. It's funny, I also haven't noticed your redness, how sad that moves your eyes to the level of fondness of your forehead and nose bump :( Have the Dr. look at them. I love your eyes and though you're gaining confidence rightfully in other areas than your looks, there probably is a way to bring your old bright eyes back.
I talked to a Dr. about a month ago and he said I could have them surgically removed (they literally cut them out of your eye) but they can come back. They also get bigger over time, and right now the bump on my right eye is growing pretty quickly and already covers a bit of the blue (iris)... and if it keeps growing it will cover the pupil, blocking vision, and I'll have to get it removed :-( But the good news is that will give me my much awaited excuse to wear an eye patch! Who doesn't want to legitimately wear an eye patch at SOME point in their life?
I loved that quote. I've seen you in real life too though and never noticed, though I know that doesn't mean they're not there and that you are very aware of them. I remember an article once about a model who said, "I have flaws." The interviewer asked what they were and she said no, I'm not going to tell you that, then that's all you will see. So true. We all have them. Mine, sometimes feel so big that everyone has to see them. Sigh. Oh, and I wore an eye patch in third grade. ;)
That was me, Susie.
I don't. I don't want to wear an eye patch. =o)
I do love this quote and I read the whole post. =o) Love it. I love how real you are. We are human for goodness sakes and I love that we all have struggles and we get through them and we move on, becoming a better person for them.
Thanks for the thoughts! Happy Weekend!
Yeah, every year I have a few students who insist that I'm the cool "stoner" teacher who always comes to school with red eyes.
Honestly though, I haven't noticed the red in your's nearly as much as mine. Mine grew at a frenetic pace when I was your age too but have since slowed/stopped.
I also feel you on the forehead feature ... maybe that'll stop growing for me too ;)
I've never ever noticed Mike's red eyes?
I have about 4 bright red veins in my eyes that I really don't like, but, hey, what can ya do. I have chronic dry eye too.
And yes.. we all struggle with confidence.
Remember the sun screen song....
"sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind, but in the end.. the race is long.. and it's only with yourself."
:)
I really love that quote and I think your eyes are so pretty. I know what you mean about the more you look, the more you see... as far as imperfections in ourselves. Don't even get me started! Love this post.
Happy Birhtday Chrissy....I think you are beautiful red eyes (I never noticed) and all...I loved the post...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISSY!!!
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