Be...beautiful.

Superficial

That's what I think of when I hear the world beautiful in 2016.  As time has passed us by we're so far from the true definition of certain words in our language that they have corroded to ruin us.

We live in a place that tells us beauty is:

Breast Implants
Tummy Tucks
Lipo
Lip injections
Hair extensions
Butt implants
Calf implants
Botox

Read between the lines and you will see that beauty is defined not by how you were made naturally but how you create yourself to look with the help of needles, scalpels, and glue.

I like to look my best and achieve that through things like diet, exercise, washing my hair (ha!), and taking care of my skin.  I made it through tweendom, middle school, and those critical teen years realizing that the pop culture icons were made to look the way they did thanks to managers, labels, and producers.

Today I raise a child who is growing up in a time where the ideology of beauty is so incredibly warped. I have to remind her over and over that what she sees is not "normal"  or "realistic".

Striving to remind her she is beautifully and wonderfully made, teaching her take care of her body, and making sure she knows that the secret of beauty is to love yourself and what sets you apart from the masses - that's my lesson plan on raising in a daughter in a world obstructed by fallacies of beauty.

But most of all it is setting the example for her.

As moms, aunts, big sisters, and babysitters we are the epitome of beauty to so many girls in our lives.  They look to us and think we are the supermodels.  Therefore, we have to watch what we do and what we say about ourselves at all times.  It is too easy to leave an imprint on a child (without meaning to) about the way we look and our insecurities.

Realizing we're the role model we need to set a good example each and every day.  We need to take control of our health and our beauty will follow.

My daughter knows mama loves to work out and loves to eat fresh and healthy.  She knows that her mom drinks water and unsweet tea and washes her face and brushes her teeth twice a day!  But the best part of it is she knows her mama does it because she loves her and her brother and wants to be around for the duration.

Set a good example.  You are the definition of beautiful early on and if you sit on that pedestal they raise you to you are the long lasting link to how they will view what beautiful is.

Linked up with Michelle for Party At My Place.

xo
Amanda