Local Author on a Mission!
People have often asked me to share the reasons why I started my blog and wrote the book: The ABC’s of Real Beauty. If you go to the website, you will see the mission statement: “to be the change agent that helps women and young girls break the bondage of negative self-image; appreciate their God-given uniqueness; and get on the path of being all they were created to be!” While it sounds like a fairly lofty goal, I know from personal experience that it is absolutely possible.
The whole project was born out of personal struggles with negative self-image as well as conversations and observations of other women. We tend to do a good job painting on the face of: “I’m ok”, but will actually be struggling on the inside. A couple of years ago, I ran across a survey that was done by Dove. It stated that only 2 percent of women would describe themselves as beautiful. I then began to do some research and was absolutely blown away by the amount of money that people were spending to alter their appearance. This disturbed me. As I began to recall the issues I had growing up, even into adulthood, I remember comparing myself to others and this is what I suspected the other 98 percent of women in the survey were doing. I then began to wonder what God thought about all of this – I believe that He created us all and if the intent was for all of us to look alike, He would have designed it that way. On the contrary, when you look around, you see different skin tones, different hair textures, different physiques, etc. How can we not appreciate the variations of His handiwork? It’s almost like putting your absolute best effort into a project; a project that you are so proud of and then having that project come to life and tell you that you did it wrong.
It dawned on me, instead of celebrating the things that make us unique, they are being wielded as flaws; flaws that must be fixed! We have certainly bought into that line of thinking – so much so that we have created multi-billionaires on one hand, and numerous internally-conflicted souls on the other. Women and girls are being ousted, bullied, ignored, and oppressed in their own minds because they don’t fit the mold of what’s being sold as “beauty.”
One of my favorite sayings is: “become the change that you seek.” While I sometimes feel like the voice crying out in the wilderness, The ABCs of Real Beauty is my personal attempt to help raise awareness of how major of an issue this is. When I read about the dark-skinned women in Africa and India who are exposing themselves to harsh, cancer-causing, ingredients in skin lightening creams, or the plastic surgeries that go wrong, I want to make people stop and ask the hard questions. It also serves as a reminder that Real beauty is not all about looks. The definition of beauty talks about something that pleases the mind as well as the senses. The book points to other character traits totally unrelated to appearance. Even though the book is written for women, I encourage men to read it as well. Many men don’t realize that they too have bought into these “unwritten rules” and feed into the very insecurities that are plaguing our women and girls.
As I watch and listen, I see and hear so much self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-unappreciation. I see women settling for “less than” all because they don’t understand who they really are. I want women to catch the revelation that they are beautiful, powerful, equipped, and that they hold the keys to greatness. However, it is foundational that they believe it. It’s time out for masking and hiding – no more taking the designer’s original and turning it into counterfeit! There is an indescribable feeling that comes with true self-acceptance. It’s a freedom of sorts that tends to put things into perspective. Once you catch the revelation of who you are and whose image you were created in, you are free to move forward without hindrance, hesitation, or fear. You are free to be you!
Copies of The ABCs of Real Beauty can be found on Amazon (paperback or e-version)
You can also order copies by contacting Sharon at: sharon@realbeautyatoz.com
Sharon is also a Speaker and Personal Coach.
Connect with Sharon at:
Web: www.realbeautyatoz.com (sign up for her newsletter and Blog)
Facebook: facebook.com/realbeautyatoz
Twitter: @realbeautyatoz
