You're Worth It...#RealNotRetouched

It is no secret that I have been a fan of beautiful harmonies my whole life. I think the obsession started when I was little and my Dad would blare Queen as we drove to soccer practice in his convertible.

That being said, it was only natural that I start following youtube bands such as Pentatonix and Cimorelli. Their harmonies are too beautiful to be ignored!

Cimorelli has recently come out with a new EP called "Renegade" and I must say it is fantastic. One of my favorite songs is "You're Worth It." They just came out with the music video (Watch it here. Seriously, do it) and it is phenomenal. It has a great message and is so positive.

I have gone through several periods of time where I had very low self esteem. I, being the reader that I am, turned to books. I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where... citation needed haha) where it said reading something over and over (or saying it) can make you really believe it.  This is a philosophy that my Mother firmly believes in. I can remember being nervous about getting through the ring clean in a horse show and my mom standing by my horse making me repeat "I am a great rider. I can do this. I will do this." She would make me think so positively. I've always admired my Mom for her incredibly strong mentality. We've had a lot go on in our lives and I can't even begin to describe what a hero my Mom is. 

In college I was going through a particularly rough time and so I wrote 

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL 

on notecards, in notebooks, on my mirror... everywhere. To this day I still have the note below on my mirror.

You would be amazed what a difference it makes.

The thing that I hate is that so often calling yourself beautiful can be construed as vain. I HATE that. I think every girl AND boy should be able to say "I am beautiful" and not feel embarrassed or like they shouldn't be proud to feel that way. I once was going through a break up and was feeling really horrible and unattractive. I had written YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL in really big letters on the front page of my notebook and I remember the girl next to me saying, "Somebody's full of herself." You never know what someone is going through. I needed to see those words and this girl had the power to make me doubt that I should write those words on my notebook or that I should be proud to feel beautiful. 

Beauty doesn't have to look one particular way. Everyone is beautiful and I really mean that. 

Darling Magazine has started a #RealNotRetouched campaign and I LOVE it. It is a big step towards setting a more realistic societal expectation for women. They are really doing great things for women in general. I highly recommend you go check out their site and subscribe (Not sponsored, just supportive).

Lots of love,

Malena