to embrace that, but not only that. We have to retrain
ourselves to knowing that we are worth more than what
someone thinks, what has happened in our past, and more
than how fast we can bat our fake eyelashes. So many
times in life, hurts and pains make us feel less confident.
Instead of dealing with those hurts, we focus our energy
on something else. Unfortunately, for us as women, we
turn our attention to the outer instead of fixing the inner.
Look at how many times we may have a bad day, and
go get “retail therapy”. We even have made a name for
it. Will buying a new dress really solve the problem? We
need to learn to fix the cause of the problem and then
go buy a new pair of red bottoms. Buy them because we
want to, not because we think it will cure the blues.
When is the last time you invested in a class you want
to take on a new subject, instead of spending money
on a bikini wax? When is the last time you went to the
store without any make-up? When was the last time
you let your guy see you with rollers in your hair? Are
you less valuable because you have hot rollers in, does
that somehow diminish your worth and make you less
beautiful? God forbid. When is the last time you read a
book instead of obsessing over what nail polish to wear to
dinner with friends?
We have to start to focus on ourselves, our real selves. The
self who cries every time she watches “Beaches”, the one
who can and will eat a whole pan of brownies and not feel
guilty. Where is the woman who can quote Shakespeare
better than a professor of literature at Berkeley? Where
is that beautiful woman? I challenge each of us to go into
this New Year ready to fall in love with ourselves. We
must choose what we want to be special about us; we
must set our own standard of beauty. Underneath all the
Mac cosmetics, bronzer and control top panty hose is the
real you. Let’s work on beautifying our insides, and then
our outsides will have no choice but to shine.
FREDRICKA FONTA
www.thegoodsmag.co
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