LaCresha's Lens Focuses On...page 42...Beauty Challenge

One of my stunning model friends on Facebook was nominated for a Beauty Challenge.   This challenge is to take a photo of yourself with no make up and post it.  This is not always easy for women to do as we try to hide our flaws and enhance our features with make up.
The woman who was participating in this challenge is naturally beautiful.  I have seen her walk into a photo session without any make up and look gorgeous.  She is as sweet as can be and you cannot help but fall in love with her spirit!
How surprised was I when she put me into the list of women she nominated for a Beauty Challenge.  One of the reasons I strive to do Boudoir and enhance my clients experiences is because I know those voices in our heads very well.  They can be incredibly damaging.  You can feel good about yourself with head high and proud.  Then you step into a restroom at a restaurant and see someone who just glimmers with a skinny body, perfectly styled hair and a beautiful face and BAM!  We no longer think we are good enough.  We all have that inner goddess which resides within who longs to come out and play.  We deserve it.  It IS OKAY to say "I am beautiful" and find peace with it.
Yet, many of us continue to struggle.
So, I took on this challenge, I woke up, washed my face and snapped a pic with my cell phone.  I was surprised by the support and kind comments I received on Facebook.  To have my friends and Facebook friends tell me I am beautiful, that it was a stunning pic of me.  It made me think maybe I need to squash those negative thoughts in my head?  Maybe that little girl inside me who was always told she was ugly can be free of her sadness?  Growing up I was never the prettiest girl in the class.  Being in a small town everyone knew everyone and we all had our "roles" in school.  I would look in the mirror and think "ugly duckling" and wonder if ever I would grow into a swan. 
Yesterday, I thanked the woman who put me on the list of this challenge.  As it has helped me grow as a person, as a woman and accept that I am beautiful, just like I have always wanted to be.  Our beauty is not just something on the outside.  It is also how we carry ourselves as a person.  Beauty truly resonates from within.  You can have flawless skin, perfect cheekbones, well groomed eye brows, but if you have a bad attitude, it does not matter how beautiful you are, because it makes you ugly.
Maybe...just maybe...I am finally that swan I have always wanted to be.

This is me, no make up, no filter on the camera.  I had not even brushed my hair yet.
Find a way to embrace your own beauty-you have the right to be comfortable in your own skin.