Sans

Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  ~Kahlil Gibran


To the right is a picture of me. A picture of which I am honestly not all that fond.

I am not wearing even the tiniest bit of makeup...my hair is wind-tossed and blown out of proportion by humid summer winds.


It's not my best look. Not even a little bit.


Normally, I would never even consider posting a picture such as this one for all the world to see. 


However, there is a reason behind this strange behavior.

PAICFBWAA. 


The above jumble of letters stands for People Are Imperfect Campaign For Bloggers Who Are Awesome -- a truly brilliant idea started by Olivia and her simply spectacular blog, Of Horsefeathers. 


The concept? To embrace ourselves as truly beautiful and imperfect women.

The challenge? To post a photograph of ourselves with all the external "beautifiers" stripped away. 


To be entirely real.

I will be entirely transparent and say that I am a very insecure individual. There are so many things I dislike about myself...so many things that, if given the chance, I would take away or add in a heartbeat. 

I struggle to love myself....and as such, I struggle to let myself be loved by others, even those who look me deep in my eyes and whisper "you're beautiful" every single day. 


In my own eyes, my own beauty is non-existent. 


And so, I war with myself.


But this is a step for me.


Perhaps a small step...maybe even more of a two-inch wiggle. 


But it's movement forward. 


Sans makeup...sans styling.


One tiny step at a time.


I'm learning to love me.


I'm learning to be imperfect. 


I don't like standard beauty - there is no beauty without strangeness.  ~Karl Lagerfeld