operation beautiful

so, i have a few websites that i just love going back to. most of them are fashion ones, or blogs, or crafty ones (felt, etsy, etc)...

but one that i really enjoy is Operation Beautiful
how inspiring. how uplifting.
this website, and now the books, has been encouraging young girls (and not so young girls) to search for true beauty, inner beauty, and to find it in themselves and each other.

i have always struggled with how i look. my weight fluctuates more than a puffer fish and i jolt abruptly between feeling okay about myself and feeling disgusted with how i look.

it is hard. to look in the mirror and find the beautiful parts instead of the flaws. we are our own worst critic.
today's society doesn't help. most of the fashion is designed with skinny (skeletal) girls in mind. the general public have become "sizist" and it's totally not cool.

i know it sounds lame and cliche, but true beauty does lie deeper than the skin. i just wish it was easier to get the message onto the record player, instead of having the same old negativity record stuck on replay.

i wish my hair was longer.
i wish my skin was clearer and more radiant
i wish i had blue eyes
i wish i was skinnier - ALL OVER
i wish i had less freckles and moles
i wish i had straighter and whiter teeth
i wish my fingers and toes looked less like sausages
i wish i didn't have "cankles"

that was too easy. that list took me just a few seconds to write. i bet if i tried to write that many things that i like about how i look, it would take me 10 times longer, at least.


Operation Beautiful not only posts pictures of inspiring messages, but also posts a 'post-it quote of the day", which are also positive thoughts which can help people who are feeling low, or suffering with depression.

“Love comes to those who still hope even though they’ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they’ve been betrayed, to those who still love even though they’ve been hurt before.”

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”

here are a few of my favourite recent post-it notes (all taken from here)

such a good one! and so relevant for me :)

YES!

my faves especially are: It's the size of your heart, 

not the size of your jeans - that makes you beautiful

and

Psst! Your inner beauty is showing

something i am still teaching myself

I have a CHOICE to feel the way i want

SO difficult - but SO important

You have to believe that for every mountain you face, there is a miracle to help you conquer it. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes, courage is the little voice at the end of each day, saying: I will try again tomorrow.

whatever it is i battle with, and every day is different from the last, i must remember to tell myself this. I am me, and i am perfect - even though i may still be a "work in progress", there is no-one else who could be me better than me.

i mean the world to somebody.

i make someone else smile every day - even on days when i can't make myself smile.

i'm more than just 'alright'. i am unique. and i am beautiful.

there. i said it :)

and guess what?

YOU ARE TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!