Beautiful. That is the word they want me to remember. You are beautiful they say, yet they turn around and criticize me. They notice many things that are wrong with me, because I am not good enough. They say I have a pretty face, a nice smile, and cool eyes. But those things don’t cover up, my flaws. They must fight to see the good in me.

There are prettier and skinner girls out there, smarter ones too. Am I even average? They say I am. They say average isn’t enough though. And it isn’t. Really I am below average. The reason my eyes shine is because I spend time outlining them, crafting them into two beautiful features. My teeth are straight because I spent five years with braces on them. And my skin looks smooth and clear because it is being covered by a mask. And sometimes my stomach looks flat, that is because I didn’t eat that day, or purposely wear clothes that hide me. I could do a lot better they say. Why am I finding myself agreeing?

I take what they say to heart. Yeah maybe these words don’t come straight from their mouth, but their actions speak it. Their actions are what they say. Why do I crave for their approval? Because there never will be approval, they say everything can be fixed. They say not to be content with how God created me, because everything can be better.
I. Am. Ugly. That is what they really say.

But the one who created me say differently. He says I was created in His image. He says I am beautiful. He says He likes my crooked teeth and my natural eyes. He says my face is gorgeous even with its blemishes. My body is perfect, without a flat stomach and a thigh gap, that is what He says. He says He loves me.

I have a pretty heart, He told me. And with a pretty heart everything about you is pretty. And when you have a creator like God the father, you are going to be beautiful. He made me beautiful. He says I am beautiful.