Words Won't Bring Us Down

I am in a bit of a pensive mood after watching tonight's episode of Glee. Despite it's tendency toward cheesiness and stereotypes, the show does have its moments, and tonight was definitely one of those. The episode ended with everyone singing Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", a song that I've always loved. The song, and the episode, speaks of ignoring those who put you down and of looking in the mirror and seeing that you are beautiful....no matter what they say.

That song always makes me cry, and tonight was no exception. Despite being a model, and despite being very comfortable in my own skin and happy with who I am and how I look, it wasn't always that way. In middle school, I was harassed a lot, and I'm still not quite sure why. Just because I was different, I suppose. Not wearing the "right" clothes, not acting the same way as everyone else....no real reason, just because they have to find someone to make them feel better about themselves.

Eventually, I learned to love myself for who I am and to block out those voices that try to put me down. But I still can not forget the way I felt back then, and how hard it was to deal with it every day. My past experiences have made me want to be a protector of those who have low self-esteem. Every girl I see who feels bad about herself, I just want to tell her not to listen to what others say about her. I want to tell her that she is beautiful, and that she deserves better. I want to give her a hug and tell her that it will be okay.

So I want to tell all of you to not let them bring you down, because you are a beautiful person, and you are loved.


*Big hugs*

--Carley


About the image: I used a 28-105 lens, zoomed in nice and close. I just used a bare flash at 1/16th power; I didn't want to go crazy with the lighting, but I wanted that contrast and the shadows I love so much. I cleaned up any distractions (little spots of light reflecting of my eyebrow hairs, etc.), but kept the skin as natural as possible. A little desaturation and a healthy dose of contrast gives a somewhat hard feel to the image.