Make-Up Ponderings

Without further ado, today I discuss make-up... I clean... I ponder... I ask you to ponder... and I share with you my very packed and messy bathroom of beauty products... I ramble... I laugh... I muse...Enjoy the informal randomness and ponder along with me, folks.

Arielle's Word of the Day #30: COMMUNITY

I hope you have all enjoyed this blogger challenge. I can't tell you how delighted I have been to receive the daily emails telling me how fun/thought-provoking/healing this has been for people. I may have created the framework, but YOU did the work.

You did it.

We are a community. I love to build on community. I love to see our strengths in all their glory. I love to boost people up, help them share, cheer with them as they rise above what holds them down. I have very much enjoyed reading all the posts of those who have participated in this month's Word of the Day challenge. It's been rewarding to see  how different we all are. I love that. I love that a single word can bring out such a rainbow of experiences, emotions, stories, art, self-discovery.

This blogger challenge has been a rich one. I feel rich to have witnessed the insight you have all shown and encountered. It's BEAUTIFUL.

Thank you for meeting the challenge. You exceed all expectations. Don't forget that you are amazing.

I want to give a HUGE thank you to my dear friend Tracey who helped facilitate this fantastic little blogger challenge. She propelled Hungry for Change and Actively Arielle into a work of art.

The Words of the Day may have ended, but your encouragement of each other doesn't have to end...nor does your self-reflection. Choose your own words of the day... choose your own paths... and look to your community for strength, renewal, and positive emotion. You are appreciated.

Love,
Arielle

PS. There may be future blogger challenges. :-) We'll give you some breathing time. The lovely Tracey and I have more in store for you.

Arielle's Word of the Day #2: INVISIBLE

With a bit of a pit in my stomach, I'm going to talk about this. It's so odd! It's been a long, long, long time since I've been a wee bit nervous about writing something! When I was younger, when I was struggling with an eating disorder, I wanted to be invisible. Amazing, isn't it? But I really did. I hated that the focus was always put on my appearance. I hated that my accomplishments or intellect were second best to what people saw when they looked at my face or body. I hated that my talents were seen as "extra," as though I was somehow already set for life because of the way I looked.

At the risk of sounding obnoxious, I write about this today. I feel safe assuming that all my regular readers know the kind of woman I am well enough to recognize that I'm not a conceited, self-absorbed person. I really don't talk about this appearance stuff, because it's very easy for people who don't know me to take it the wrong way - to somehow think I am full of myself. For an instant, I even get nervous, because I am reminded of being bullied in middle school by other girls, for no other reason than my appearance. I also worry that I can hear the thoughts of a few out there who can't believe I would even write about this, when some people "would kill to have the problem of being beautiful" (someone else's words, not mine). Over the years, I have actually received messages and comments from viewers on YouTube who wrote that they couldn't possibly listen to what I say in my videos because it's ridiculous given that I am pretty, and that someone who looks like me couldn't possibly have had problems like they have.

Now, of course, the absolute plethora of positive comments and messages outweigh all those, and I like to think that what I say is important and my true self shows through in what I do. Still... I hope no one thinks that I'm saying being cursed with beauty is the same as being abused or anything equally as atrocious.

All I can say is that, believable or not, beauty was an issue for me. And I write about it because I'm not ashamed. And I hate that girls often feel they have to berate themselves, simply because if they didn't argue with people who called them pretty and great and awesome, other people would call them conceited. Growing up, it irked me that I would be "shown" to people for the purpose of hearing them remark upon my appearance. I wanted to scream, "But I just wrote a story!" or "I got straight As!"

I want to be known for being kind, not pretty. I want to be thought of as smart, not sexy. And if you're calling me beautiful, I want it to be because my essence within is shining out of me and you're seeing the whole package. Beauty is great - who doesn't like to be told they look beautiful? - but I wanted to be MORE than JUST that. And I felt like no one could see it, because few cared to look past the surface.

Part of my eating disorder was about becoming invisible, uglier, less. So people would have to see the me that was inside. So if they wanted to know me, it wasn't because of how I looked, but because of how I WAS. I also wanted to be liked instead of talked about with malice, before people even got to know me and find that I was a studious little bookworm with a love for helping others. Instead of embracing my whole self, I tried to break myself down because I was afraid. It took me a while to realize that the perceptions and words of others were not the final say. I had the final say. And I was more than just a pretty face.

And I figured out that people will always have something to say. They'll want to tell me I'm too much. Or tell me I'm not enough. They'll want to hate me. Or they'll want to be-friend me. And maybe they'll think I'm just a pretty face... but I can make the decision to open my mouth and use my voice. And if they want to listen, that is THEIR decision and is out of my control. What I needed to do was just find a way to be confident in the woman I wanted to be. Be confident that the vast majority of people would see my heart, not just my face. And they have.

In college,  in 2005, I wrote a poem I called "So Damn Beautiful Rant." I not only typed it, but I also spoke it into a recorder and played it back for myself when I took long walks. I listened to the sound of my own voice... my own voice saying my own words...letting it all seep in.

So Damn Beautiful Rant

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m ugly.

That said, the spirit of me

Is hard to contain.

Girl, you’ll be a woman soon.

Woman, you’ll be a girl again.

Remember to reinforce me,

Jealousy is natural,

I have done nothing wrong.

I declare my sentiments:

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m wrong.

Multigenerational packs of women

Stare at me because I’m me.

They don’t know I’m beautiful.

They don’t know I’m ugly.

They ratify against me,

Volunteer to fix me,

Wish they were like me.

I lament the prevalence of me,

Wish I was smaller,

Less less less,

Hidden away from everyone.

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m crazy.

I lament the lack of me,

Wish I was bolder,

More more more,

Ubiquitous and flashy.

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m ugly.

I buy right into the eyes

That search me out

And strive to dissipate

My sense of humor.

The tip of the iceberg:

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m not me.

 © ALB 2005

Beauty is such a weird thing. We make it this powerful concept that stresses us all out. From a young age, I was STRESSED OUT. My solution: be invisible. 

Invisible? Me? No way. Not anymore.

Why "We Are the Real Deal" is the Place to Be

If you haven't done so already, you really need to visit We Are the Real Deal. Yes, I'm a contributor there, but that's not why I'm plugging it. The site is amazing in a number of ways:

1. It has a plethora of resources for things eating disorder, body image, and health & wellness related.
2. You can be introduced to a variety of awesome bloggers who are passionate about promoting a FANTASTIC and healthy society.
3. There are always new blog posts ranging from funny to insightful to inspiring.
4. It's a place that joins professionals with activists with creative minds with writers with readers - and everyone in between! And all those who manage to fit into more than one category. :-)
5. The mission statement ROCKS: http://wearetherealdeal.com/about/mission/
6. YOU rock - and everyone at We Are the Real Deal is all about celebrating that.

So what are you waiting for? Are you ready for the real deal? I'm so PROUD to be part of this.

The "Perfect" Recovery

And last week's video: THE "PERFECT" RECOVERY.

This is a really important one. This notion of the "perfect" recovery can be so detrimental to recovery itself. Don't compare yourself to others and don't compare your recovery to anyone else's recovery!

Eating Disorders & The Media

This week's topic is The Media & Eating Disorders. This has been talked about many times over, and I've spoken about it/written about it before, but today's video touches on it again. In this video, I mention my feelings on the media, how it affects me, and what we can do to keep negative effects of the media at bay.

Follow Up On the Beauty Message Challenge

If you haven't already read my recent post on the Beauty Message Challenge, you can do so here. Then, here's a video in which I discuss my experience with the BMC and give both an update and a special message to all of you.


You are beautiful!

You are Beautiful!

You remember my post about the Beauty Message Challenge? Well, my 10 days have elapsed and I'm ready to share them with you. (A video post will follow later this weekend.)

Day One

I posted two messages about The Beauty Message Challenge on the Facebook profiles of 2 beautiful women, telling them in frank terms that they are beautiful no matter what size they are and that no one is beautiful the way they are.

I also went to dinner with my friend Beth and gave her a little speech right outside the restaurant as we waited for a table to free up. This is what I told her:

Day Two

I posted two messages about The Beauty Message Challenge on the Facebook profiles of 2 more beautiful women, telling them in frank terms that they are beautiful because they are one of a kind and very strong.

I also called my mother and told her over the phone what The Beauty Message Challenge was all about - and that I was doing my own spin on it. "So Mom," I said, "I wanted to tell you that YOU are beautiful. And the reason..." She began to laugh, which interrupted me. "Mom, why are you laughing? Don't laugh at me. I'm being serious. You are beautiful and I'm not afraid to tell you." She quieted. I continued, "The reason you are beautiful is because you are funny and you're not afraid to be yourself. You look great for your age, you're pretty and--"

It was around this time that she interrupted again. She said, "You're going to make me cry in the middle of Target."

To which I said, "That would be kind of cool," and chuckled. But then continued, "And you've always been a wonderful mother and I love you."

Day Three

I found the most beautiful(!) card for my friend Jen. It's made by Blue Mountain Arts and they might as well be making cards for The Beauty Message Challenge, because it (and others like it) were perfect for my purposes this week, as you can see.

I popped it in the mail to Jen with a typed page explaining further reasons why she is beautiful and describing The Beauty Message Challenge. I also sent her a CD I hope will be a peaceful gift. Jen is beautiful AND planning her wedding (next month!) right now, so she definitely deserves to hear both the words written in the card and the CD.

I then posted two more messages on the Facebook profiles of two new beautiful women, letting them know they are beautiful, strong, and wonderful.

Day Four

I mailed a special card to my best friend, Libes. It said what I wanted it to say - and what it didn't say, I wrote in myself. :) What did I add? That she's beautiful because she's family oriented, always there for me, has a great body and smile, is fun with a capital F, and much much more. I can't put into the words the beauty of Libes, but she certainly deserves to hear it!

Day Five

I brought a special card into work for my co-worker, Kathy. And I made sure to write in it: "You are beautiful AND I'm not afraid to tell you! A special card for a special woman." I explained to her face to face what the Beauty Message Challenge was all about and handed her the card. :) (She told me later that she has the card displayed at home.)

Day Six

I emailed my friend Alicia and let her know she was beautiful and why in detail. I mean, who wouldn't want to get an email with the subject line: "You are beautiful :)" first thing in the morning? Alicia is one of my dearest friends and is beautiful inside and out.

Day Seven

I sent a message to my friend Huoi. I told her about the BMC and why I think she's beautiful. She's a hard-working doctor and definitely deserves to know!

Day Eight

I brought a special card into work for my friend Val. The card was all about how she is strong, and of course, beautiful. She opened it up and started crying. Her other reactions? She gave me a hug (still crying) and said, "Well I'm not afraid to tell you you're beautiful! I tell you all the time!" which made me laugh.

Day Nine

I sent a message to my friend Sarah telling her about the BMC and explaining why I think she's beautiful. Will she take on the BMC herself and tell herself she's beautiful each day for 10 days? I don't know... but she should, because she's very beautiful. She's in Jen's wedding with me and I love spending time with her. We've been friends since 1st grade!

Day Ten

Day Ten is today - the last day of the BMC. I have a card in my purse that is ready to be given to a co-worker after the weekend is over. She was out for a few days at the end of this work week, so I wasn't able to give it to her when planned. But today, I am telling all of you that YOU are beautiful. It's true. You read the blog, you take the words to heart, and you fight your own fight every single day. There's lots of beauty going on here.

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If there's one thing I discovered during my version of the Beauty Message Challenge, it's that women got embarrassed when I told them they were beautiful, and further embarrassed when I began to tell them why. Some blushed, some interrupted me because they were so surprised, and some cried. What kind of world do we live in when women have such a reaction to being told the TRUTH, that they are beautiful?

I also noticed that as I was telling the separate women they were beautiful (and why) in my variety of ways, I often got choked up or emotional myself. I meant what I said (or wrote) to everyone I told and I wish everyone could hear it a million times over.

One of my favorite sayings of all time is: "Beauty is not a state of body. It's a state of mind." I say this and write this constantly. I love it. But you know what, ladies? Your bodies are beautiful too.

Today, don't argue with me. Accept that you are beautiful. Accept that I think you are. And you know what else? I'm beautiful too. :)

The Beauty Message Challenge

I am participating in the Beauty Message Challenge. And I hope you will too.

Click here to see what it's all about.

I will actually be a guest blogger for the first week in September. And here's what I'm doing for my special challenge:

1 - Each day for the next 10 days (starting with today), I will tell one woman in my life that she is beautiful and why. I plan to do this in a variety of ways, depending on the woman in question - by email, phone, card in the mail, in person, etc.

2 - I will also keep up with the main goal of the Beauty Message Challenge by telling myself that I am beautiful.

3 - I will have a special message for all my readers/viewers posted on September 4th, and the readers of The Beauty Message blog will see it as well, as it will be posted there too. The special message on September 4th will detail my experience sharing the beauty message with others and I will also share my thoughts on beauty. In addition, there will be a video posted that relates to the topic at hand.

Join me in telling yourself that you are beautiful each day for the next days. Please?

Show & Tell: Lily Mosaic

Here is the second piece of artwork in my Calling All Art! Show & Tell and Giveaway. This piece is by Serra and is a mosaic.

[click for a larger view]

Serra writes:

"My lily is my symbol of new beginnings and second chances. The white
lily symbolises innocence and purity which is what i have finally
found within myself in my recovery... I lost my innocence early in
life and searched for too long to make myself feel clean again, and
guess what? Once I began to accept myself and even like myself I
realised that I really was ok after all. I got married in February of
this year, and the lilies were my wedding flowers because of their
symbolism and because I was beginning a new healthy love filled life
with my amazing husband. Before my wedding I had these lilies tattooed
across my back and shoulders so I can always have them with me and
show the world that I'm back!"


Well done, Serra! What could be more beautiful than symbolism like that? The lily mosaic is not only truly lovely, it is also a symbol of what Serra has regained for herself: innocence and purity. This art shows that despite the pain of an eating disorder and the hardship of recovery, the outcome can still be a beautiful one. So often we hear about people who have made headway with their eating disorders, only to show the world a darker version of themselves. This art is proof that beauty can still be found, that all the hard work does not have to make you a harder person. I love the detail and the color of this piece, but I love the message even more. Who knew a lily could signify such strength and resilience? Thank you, Serra, for sharing your artwork with us. Look for it on the sidebar of my blog for the next month and consider yourself entered in the Giveaway! :)


If you'd like to enter the Giveaway and have your artwork displayed here, just click here for the instructions. I will accept artwork until the end of November. I can't wait to see all of your art!

Appreciate Today

Appreciate today. Appreciate life. If it's a fleeting moment in which you can appreciate the world around you, then so be it. At least it's something.

Don't let external factors bring you down. There is always something to appreciate in this life. Whether it be the beauty of a sunny day, spending time laughing with family, or talking for hours to a good friend, there is something to appreciate today.

Look for it. Find it. Embrace it.

Sometimes it's just a matter of realizing that there is some good floating around you. Open your eyes. Accept the bad, but don't forget about the good.

Appreciate today. You only get to live today once.

Support: A Give & Take

A new video. Watch it with hope in your heart.

Your Life Raft in the Waters of Criticism

It’s easy to get swept up in the swirl of the world. You go to school or work and you see and hear things that make you feel inadequate. There are a lot of things out there that influence us, whether we like it or not. And in a lot of ways, it can be a good thing. Many of us have friends we have a great time with, family we love and care about, and things we enjoy doing, watching, or reading. And that’s okay.

But when you already feel a certain way and suddenly you can feel that something around you is pulling you to feel another way, you need to stop and think for a minute. A minute is all it takes. You’ve heard the advice: “Go with your first instinct.” Well, in this case, you usually should. If something you see or hear or read makes you second guess how you FEEL about yourself, it’s best to examine it.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s great when we see or hear or read something that makes us question our thoughts or our knowledge about something. It’s good to be open to other opinions, possibilities, and viewpoints. We can learn a lot by paying attention to the world around us. Just don’t let something make you feel like less of a person if you didn’t feel that way before.

If your peers are telling you something negative (that you’re fat, ugly, etc.) or worse—if your friends (which is questionable to say the least) are saying things that make you feel bad about the way you look—don’t let them bring you down to a place where you want to change to please them. Working to please others or to make others like you is no way to live and is, frankly, a recipe for disaster. At the end of the day, all you have is YOU.

Not all criticism is constructive.

Appreciating yourself is your life raft in the waters of criticism.

For girls and women, especially, life can become a competition. You want to be pretty, you want to be smart, you want to be thin. You want to make sure you are as good as everyone around you. Sometimes it can feel hard to measure up. Sometimes the people you’re trying to measure up against TELL you that you aren’t good enough in some way. You’re not pretty enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not thin enough. Your clothes aren’t nice enough. Your haircut isn’t cute enough. The list can be never-ending.

You’ll never be able to please everyone. And you’ll never be able to hold yourself above the water if you let other people pull you under. And drowning is a horrible way to die.

Really, it’s all about survival. You can’t let people--or things you see, hear, or read--get the better of you. If you read in a magazine that being a certain size makes you somehow less appealing to the world at large, but you felt okay about your size before you read it, listen to your first instinct—that you are fine the way you are. Don’t buy into the negative pull. If your friends, school peers, co-workers, and/or family say something that makes you feel negatively about yourself, just remember that what they say doesn’t determine what you are. And for everyone who says something that makes you feel badly, there are just as many people who see you as great in a lot ways.

If you see an ad on TV and it makes you wonder if you should try to change yourself in some way, don’t let something you see for two minutes on TV influence you into thinking you’d be better off looking different. You have your own mind; use it.

Appreciating yourself is your life raft in the waters of criticism.

You write your own story. You can change anything you want. And you can add a new chapter whenever you feel like it. You don’t need something external or someone you know telling you what and how to change. All throughout your life, people are going to offer their opinions whether you like it or not. Sometimes a person’s opinion will help you…and sometimes it will hurt you. It’s up to you to learn the difference. There are a lot of things out there that can help us…and there are just as many things that can hinder us. A minute of thought can make a world of difference when it comes to deciding whether or not to think negatively about yourself.

When it comes right down to it, no one else anywhere is YOU. You are the only you. There’s no one out there like you. So you can’t go wrong looking the way you do. You can’t go wrong being what you are. You are you and that is the way you were meant to be. It’s okay and natural to feel unsure about the way you look sometimes, but if you’re feeling good about yourself, don’t ever let anyone make you think differently. When you give in to a negative thought about yourself, you’re relinquishing a little piece of yourself. If you continue to do that, pretty soon you’ll have surrendered a lot of pieces. You’ll be weaker and more unsure than ever.

Appreciating yourself is your life raft in the waters of criticism.

It can get pretty difficult dealing with things and people around you, especially if they are undermining your confidence in yourself. But you know what? It takes a very strong person to make it through and come out on top—to come out feeling okay. To come out knowing you are great just the way you are. To come out better because you know this.

Don’t give up on yourself. You have all the power.

And you are beautiful. Just as you are.

Letter to All

There are times when I feel there is so much I have to say and there’s just not enough time in the day to say it all. There are times when I feel no words can adequately express what is my heart. There are times when I remember the life I used to lead and am overcome with the deepest of desires to help. To reach out. To give back. To support. To explain. To send love.

You are out there. And we’ve never met, but I truly think about you often in my daily life. When I am at the grocery store, I wonder about you. When I am in my kitchen, preparing dinner, I wonder about you. When I am going to sleep at night, I wonder about you. When I am looking in the mirror, I wonder about you. You are very important to me.

I am not here to rescue or to save, but I do hope that I can help even in the smallest of ways. I have to admit that I feel a strong sense of duty (no, that’s not exactly the right word…maybe a calling is better) to share and help and support. I don’t mean this in an arrogant, self-righteous kind of way. I just mean that I can say with complete honesty that I have come a long way and I know I can give a sense of understanding and a positive outlook. Clearly, I am not perfect and I will never pretend to be. I do hope, however, that by telling you I was once in a terrible, low, unhealthy place and am now free and happy, I can give something. Something. Whatever that “something” may be.

In a strange way, I feel as though I went through my eating disorder partly for a reason: so that I could help others. So I could mold that experience into something new and positive. So I could bend it into something else that I could be proud of. I can’t seem to shake this concept. It always feels true. I came out of my whole horrid nightmare with a pure clarity—a really good understanding of what I had experienced and had struggled with and had overcome.

It is very fulfilling for me to give even the tiniest glimmer of hope to others that there is life after an eating disorder. It is very meaningful for me to be able to read all your wonderful, strong, and spirited responses and emails.

I think you are all incredible and fantastically beautiful. I just wanted you to know.

All my love,
Arielle

The Happiest Girl in the World

Wrote this almost 3 years ago in a reflective mood. It's not much, but it does speak for the way I was feeling at the time, and I know that many can relate to it. It's fairly self-explanatory, so I won't dilute it with a preface.

Genuinely listen

And you will see me there,

Eyes connected to ears

As always

Like in the days of the past

When I thought I was the

Happiest girl in the world.

Remedial treatment

For my worn little heart,

Bandaged and battered

And I flip the page

Because I don’t want

To see what’s written there.

Bounding out of the house

And up the tree,

Like a scampering creature

And not a girl,

I remember being fascinated

By the audience I saw

In the people that passed me on the street.

Brazen beaten blue eyes,

Characterized by flecks of blurry beauty,

Media-nurtured and alarmed

At the magic I found within myself.

Brown hair flowing from my head

As I looked in the mirror,

“Raw deal” I said, “raw deal.”

Don’t they always go for blondes?

No faith in my future of love,

I could not laugh.

My skinny limbs seemed pretty,

But my dark curls seemed wasteful.

Who would touch them? Like them?

Don’t they always go for blondes?

Hopeless little assailant, always beating on herself.

In later years the small breasts

Were just the icing on the cake.

And then, like a woman being

Cranked out of the tiny form of a girl,

I began to see that I was adequately recognized

And pleasantly perceived.

But it took too long.

So Damn Beautiful Rant

I wrote this about 2 and a half years ago. It's a quick, honest, and blunt rant of a poem. I allowed myself to speak freely and recognize what it was I was feeling and saying. With each line I gained momentum, and by the end, the last lines were like smacking myself in the head as I saw what I had been saying the whole time.

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m ugly.

That said, the spirit of me

Is hard to contain.

Girl, you’ll be a woman soon.

Woman, you’ll be a girl again.

Remember to reinforce me,

Jealousy is natural,

I have done nothing wrong.

I declare my sentiments:

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m wrong.

Multi-generational packs of women

Stare at me because I’m me.

They don’t know I’m beautiful.

They don’t know I’m ugly.

They ratify against me,

Volunteer to fix me,

Wish they were like me.

I lament the prevalence of me,

Wish I was smaller,

Less less less,

Hidden away from everyone.

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m crazy.

I lament the lack of me,

Wish I was bolder,

More more more,

Ubiquitous and flashy.

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m ugly.

I buy right into the eyes

That search me out

And strive to dissipate

My sense of humor.

The tip of the iceberg:

I’m so damn beautiful

That I think I’m not me.

Help Me Live

I wrote this 4 years ago today. At the time, I thought I was writing to someone--to some unknown source--for help and guidance...but now, in retrospect, I realize I was writing to myself. I was asking for help, pleading with myself. This poem describes how I used to feel each morning when I woke up. I'd feel drained. I'd feel scared. I'd feel alone. I'd feel miserable.

Help me live

To face the day

Look around

And be okay

Help me live

To face the night

Think alone

And be all right

Help me live

To face the me

In the mirror

That I see

Help me live

To face the crowd

Beat the battle

Make them proud

Help me live

To face the day

Look around

And be okay

(c) Arielle Lee Becker 2003

I finally helped myself live...just like I was always asking. It was mostly about self-realization, self-love, and self-expression. It was partly about listening to myself. It was partly about doing what I really wanted--what I really really wanted. It was partly about deciding I was ready for a new life. It was partly about getting rid of the bad in my life and surrounding myself with some more good. And it was a little bit about lots of other things that made me stop, made me think, made me turn my head to see, and made me understand at last.

Arielle

Mirror, Mirror...

Good morning, all! I hope this finds you well and ready to start a new week.

This is more of a helpful idea or tip than anything, but I find it extremely comforting and positive.

Try putting one (or more) positive or self-affirming quotes or sayings on your bathroom mirror. I know that for me, looking in the mirror used to bring on all kinds of negative words. When you look in the mirror, you inevitably think certain things about yourself. Having positive things up there on your mirror seriously helps. You see them and they remind you of your better self. I absolutely love it. When you do this, you seem positive sayings every day, multiple times a day. They get in your head. You begin to feel differently when you look in the mirror.

Try it!

These are the quotes/sayings that are on MY bathroom mirror. They've been there ever since I moved into my house. It's amazing what a little constant positive reinforcement can do!

"Beauty is not a state of body. It's a state of mind." This is one of my favorite sayings, so it needed to be on my mirror where I see it--and MYSELF--every day.

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." - Janis Joplin. One more reason to be a fan of J.J. This is such a smart quote. It really spoke to me when I first read it. Now it's there every day, speaking to me on my mirror, letting me know I should love myself.

Don't forget, you only have until this evening to email me whatever you'd like to share for Tell Your Tale Tuesday. My email is only a click away! (arielle.becker@gmail.com)

Arielle