*Blog Full of Complaints, Truths, and Curse Words* A Millennial's Guide to Being Your-Damn-Self

       Social Media is a huge part of everyday life. Frankly if it isn’t you’ll probably never read this blog anyways so that argument is irrelevant. Every day I see memes and tweets that comment on the female form. On our bodies, our faces, our fashion sense. It is the media and those who fuel it that tell us what is “socially acceptable.” What these sources fail to acknowledge or, take into account are the actual facts.

            Obviously I can only state facts in reference to my own feelings; so if you feel differently I urge you to continue on the path of least resistance. If you’re in a trolling mood however please do continue to waste your life arguing on social media. I’m sure you’ve accomplished so much in your short or, long existence on this earth.

            I saw this tweet the other day while I was watching a “NikkiTutorials,” Youtube video. It was a picture of a girl wearing a great deal of makeup. Her eyebrows, contour, highlight, cat-eye, and liquid lipstick were the epitome of flawless. Yet this tweet was negative, in summation people were somehow drawing a comparison between her makeup prowess and the idolization of the Kardashians. Apparently we all must stop having such abhorrent role models; because you wasting your time to complain about them definitely stops them from getting attention and PR. *insert slow and sarcastic applause*

            Another tweet similarly negative stated that we couldn’t trust “females” these days because you never know what they look like without their face on. Yes, because you believing my cheekbones shimmer on their own is my fault. I’m so glad you can visually deduce that my lips aren’t naturally burgundy and glossy or, that my eyelids aren’t in fact a deep shade of olive.

            Of the many issues I have about assumptions posted about makeup is this asinine idea that girls who wear makeup are insecure with the way we look. I say “we” because if any of you know me at all makeup is a huge part of my life. Buying new products, trying new techniques are things I genuinely enjoy.

            I’m going to start you off with some past history. I’m going to be super brief here but in short I was ugly. Middle school was the epitome of rough. I was fat, I had boy hair, braces, glasses, and frankly a really shitty sense of fashion. I wasn’t what you would ever call visually attractive. To top it all off I was so uncomfortable in my own skin that I literally would do anything to not be noticed. I was incredibly shy unless I was around my friends and I pretty much kept to my self rather than risk someone making fun of me.

Eventually things got better, I grew up; I traded my Etnies for a pair of Sperry’s and my soccer t-shirts were traded up for anything that said Hollister across the boobs. I started straightening my hair and wearing contacts. Eventually my orthodontist uttered the magical phrase, “I think it’s time for us to remove your braces Leah.” I started high school and like every other teenager I went through fashion phases that were less than stellar, there are definitely a couple of trends I wish I could leave behind but, I’ll always have Facebook who is kind enough to remind me how wide-width belts were super in during the 10^th grade.

Eventually I got to college and became obsessed with YouTube, I would watch makeup tutorials for hours; learning and absorbing as many tips on applying makeup as I did working on my accounting classes (which probably explains my failing of accounting the first time I took it). Eventually I started to apply makeup pretty well, it became a hobby for me to sit in front of a mirror for an hour and just play around with the way I looked. Through this entire process I soon realized I was comfortable in my own skin. I didn’t look in the mirror and feel inadequate.

Let’s be honest it wasn’t just the makeup that changed me. It was my life experiences, it was a sense of maturity, and this eventually led to me discovering the true meaning of self worth frankly that’s a story I’ve touched on in this blog more than once, so I won’t reiterate it here and make this piece even longer.

Just to clarify, I don’t wing my eyeliner and think, “wow, I’m worth something.” I wing my eye-liner and I’m like, “Damn Leah you a bad bitch!” Because just like when sports obsessed athletes score a goal for their team and celebrate, I have my own little party for myself when my wing is a perfectly symmetrical 35-degree angle. When I get a brand new highlighter and it’s pigmented AF I do my own little dance because “damn, I’m a bad bitch.” Then when I finally get home and wipe all of it off I look at my self. My red cheeks, the tiny zit on my chin, my blue-green eyes framed by invisible lashes, and I say… “Dayummm, I’m a bad bitch.”

Jokes aside, these are thoughts that have been on my mind for a couple of weeks but, I do want to reiterate that makeup or, no makeup everyone has beauty. Whether you realize it or, not the skills you possess are indicative of you, not the way you look. My skills have something to do with my visual appearance but, that doesn’t mean I’m shallow or, stupid. My interest in makeup is a part of me just like your interest in something else defines you. I guess the essence of everything is stop judging people based on their social media pictures or, their hobbies in general. Here’s a thought… get to know a person on a deeper level than just their profile, make it about more than the visual. It’ll give the world something else to talk about.