Mom,
I’ll never forget the day I came home from summer camp and was promptly told to remove the sparkly nail polish adorning my fingers. I was 8 years old and thought my life depended on the cosmetics I wasn’t allowed to wear. “You’ll have all the time in the world to play with makeup when you’re older,” you told me. “Besides, it’s what’s on the inside that counts…”
Although I hated hearing it at the time, your emphasis on inner beauty made a lasting impression on me. Teaching me to be a smart, curious and kind young woman did more for my self-esteem than that coveted blue mascara ever could.
Of course, then I hit my teenage years. You’re a little lost when you’re a teenager. I was reserved and introverted. I wasn’t great -- back then -- at expressing myself to other people. Since I was trying to figure out who I was on the inside, makeup became something to experiment with on the outside. I took frequent trips to the drugstore beauty aisle with my friends. From boxed-hair dye and press-on nails to green eyeshadow and self-tanners, I tried them all. I was covering myself up with makeup instead of enhancing what I already had.
And then, when I was 21 years old, I got a Pixie cut. Suddenly, I could no longer hide behind my long hair. As uncomfortable as that was for me at first, it allowed me to become accustomed to showing my face -- and, in turn, the real me. I still had fun with makeup, but it was no longer something on which my confidence depended. I no longer used it as a mask. I no longer used it as my mask.
You taught me that taking care of your skin and a great red lipstick can do wonders but nothing can replace what’s on the inside. There will always be a new beauty trend or another magazine advertising the latest and greatest, but we, as women, are more than that.
Sometimes, in a world full of Instagram filters and seemingly perfect lives splashed across social media, it’s easy to forget your wise words that it is what’s on the inside that counts. Every now and then I have to take a step back and reevaluate things. But then I get it again. As a female, the present is an incredible time to be alive. Never before have so many women been achieving their goals, making their own way, and living life on their terms. Your wisdom was truly ahead of the curve and has never felt more appropriate. Thank you for teaching me the real meaning of beauty.
-Your daughter, Nina
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