I Winced | Winston-Salem Photographer

I winced as they carved out her nose, cut down her ears, stretched her neck and removed pieces of her body. My face crinkled in disappointment and my heart sat heavy. *Sigh* This is the third time in the last five days I’ve seen this happen to a woman… It’s disgusting.

I’m no stranger to body issues - just ask my husband how I’ve handled my inability to lose all the weight I gained during my last depressive period. It hasn’t been pretty around our house.

Maybe that’s confusing to hear because I’ve been sharing more and more lately about how we are loved exactly as we are and how we were created with intention. To some this might even seem hypocritical that I feel this way about myself.

But this is the EXACT reason I’m so adamant about encouraging others. It feels terrible to not like what you see in the mirror - and I don’t want anyone else feeling how I feel.

So when these horrible advertisements for retouching programs pop up and show the Before photo of a woman undergoing digital plastic surgery to achieve the slimmed down, wide eyed, zero wrinkled after product… I cringe.

We DON’T need this messaging trying to make us feel like we are WRONG, that something is gross or ugly about us.

It’s why the widely accepted term “imperfection” in the beauty industry bugs me. Yes, I have scars and divots and dry spots and dark circles, but they don’t make me any less than others who don’t have those things. [Yes, telling someone they have imperfections is essentially re-enforcing there's something wrong with them and that people without those things are better.]

No scars, or zits or burns (or difference in skin color, eye color, hair color) make us any better or any less than any other person.

We're all beautifully unique!

Our outer appearances not only tell our stories but they're a reminder of the fact that we all have something different to contribute to the world.

So to all the people out there, myself included, here’s my heartfelt plea : Remember that you are loved. Remember that you were designed and created to make an impact on the world around you like NO ONE ELSE can do. We need you just as you have been equipped.