Beautiful Women

Taylor asked us to all to pick a picture of ourselves and write why the picture you took makes you feel beautiful; Its supposes to be beauty beyond worldly and societies rules of beauty; there is no one type of beauty and there are different aspects of being beautiful!  This was a great idea and really made me think about beauty and who I am.  It was also wonderful to see the responses of my sisters!

BREANNE: As I thought about what makes me beautiful I immediately thought of my outside appearance and then about my hobbies, interests and even goals. However the more I thought of these things the more I realized they were fleeting and changing; my hobbies at 13 were much different than at 22 and my goals at 16 are much different than they are now. True beauty is not fleeting but is sustained through one's life and eternally. I then began thinking of the things in my life that are sure and eternal, the things I love and treasure most. These things were not things at all but roles and relationships that I hold most dear. I am a sister; most of my childhood memories involve one or more of my siblings. They are some of my closest friends and as we have grown I have come to know them differently and love them more. I am a daughter; my parents have always been a sure foundation in my life. My mom has taught me the value of order and given me a love for creativity and my Dad has instilled in me a love for learning and a good hearted humor. I am a wife; I have a loving husband who loves and cares for me in good times and through struggles. I have learned patients, humility and perseverance through his example. I am a mother; I have learned and developed a new and greater love than I ever thought possible. I have learned of selflessness and gained a better understanding of my Heavenly Father's love for me. That brings me to the knowledge I have that I am a child of God; I know that by following the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I can return to him. Through these roles I find the beauty in myself; I am a sister, daughter, wife, mother and a child of God.

TAYLOR:  I feel beautiful when I am doing the things that make me feel like me. The things that make up the basis of who I am as a person. When I follow the teachings of Christ, when I play soccer, when I draw or paint, when I read, When I write while listening to music, when I teach Page the things that I love, when I dress comfortably, when I throw my hair into a ponytail, when I put on make-up, when I hug my friends, when I smile at my own whiteness, when I quote movies with my family, when I accept every part of me that influences my individuality in this world and just let go of other peoples expectations, that is when I feel most beautiful. When I feel like me. There are so many times that I forget my worth and forget that I am individual with individual goals and wants. When I realize Heavenly Father created me as me and not as anyone else, that is when my beauty shines. When I let me be me I realize how beautiful it is that I was meant to have all of my little quirks that I have. That I was meant to have the talents I have and I was meant to use them. I feel beautiful when I found out one of my most important parts about myself is Page. She is my beauty and purpose extended and is a part of how I make me, me. I feel beautiful when I embrace everything that makes me who I am because all of the good I have to offer comes from a loving Father in Heaven, who understands me far better than anyone could because He was the one who gave me my design. And it is beautiful.

ANDREA: I feel beautiful when I am with people, in this case women, who remind me of who I am!

ANDI: This was hard for me because I very rarely look at a photo of myself and think I look beautiful. The more I thought about it there are definitely different moments in my day or my life that I do feel beautiful. Those times are when I feel the most confident in myself. When I feel confident I feel beautiful. So I started to think about what makes me feel confident. There are definitely material things that make me feel confident. Like a wearing a new outfit, getting my hair done or even just getting my toes polished. But I would have to say there is a lot more to me feeling beautiful or confident than just material things. I think first it is being around people who I love and that love me just because of me. That of course would be my family and friends. When I am around my husband he makes me feel beautiful by the way he treats me and his kind and encouraging words. He makes me feel like I can do anything. He gives me confidence. I also feel this confidence when I am being active. Right after I work out I feel “beautiful” because I have done something for myself and it makes me feel good and accomplished. I find when I am serving others, I feel beautiful. I feel beautiful when I am laughing and having fun with my children. They make me feel youthful, which makes me feel beautiful. They also make me feel needed and wanted. I can also see in them the love that our Heavenly Father has for me and for them. That makes me feel beautiful.

ERICA: so, I went sort of a different route. First of all, when I thought about what makes me feel beautiful, I really couldn't think of anything. I don't see myself as a pretty person. I'm just normal, average, and generally unextraodinary. I have my flaws that I see and certainly focus on too much and I have the quick ability to disappoint myself. with all that, I decided to do some soul searching. I am happier now than a year ago. I am grateful for so many things. I enjoy so many things. I am happy. I think happy people are beautiful. Hence, I must think I'm beautiful. So, I wanted to show some of the things that make me happy. It was a lot of fun to think of things that brought joy, a smile, satisfaction, and peace to my life. Evelyn was a helper photographer and she jumped in. I love that picture more than the others. Each thing in the picture shows something that makes me happy.

Art, exercise, music, helping others, my beliefs, freedom to come and go, my family, and so on - these are the things that make me happy. And happy people are beautiful.