Self-Improvement
Self-Improvement: the improvement of one’s knowledge, status or character by one’s own efforts.
So, summer of 2011, I looked in the mirror, towel-wrapped and fresh from a shower, and saw a stream of stretch marks down my Line Negra — the pale line that runs from the belly button to the pubic bone — and was shocked and confused. I asked my boyfriend at the time if he noticed them and he said, “Yeah, I noticed them a while ago. Who cares?” Wait what? A while ago…
I just cried. Why? Why was I crying? I guess because I never saw myself as an overweight girl. I looked in the mirror and saw a brown, beautiful, “regular” built girl with a cute chubby tummy. I never knew that the cute tummy I loved was getting chubbier and the cute was being tarnished by the mark of weight gain. How did I let this happen? Why hadn’t I been paying attention? When did this start? I guess I had finally noticed what a size 14 really looked like. I never saw myself as a size or as a weight number — I always viewed myself as Blaire. This was something new and different for me, and I looked in the same mirror and said to myself, “This has been me, is me, always going to be me. Whether I’m skinny, chunky, fat or otherwise… I AM Blaire4ever!”
Fast forward to June of this year. I’ve decided to cut myself some slack. I’m usually difficult on myself and my own biggest hater. Believe it or not, I am the go-to friend for confidence boosting, but oftentimes I find it difficult to utilize the same passion for self-confidence. I tell random people — when they tell me of their successes — how proud I am of them and I see the great in them, which is somehow something I find difficult to do for myself.
Well, not anymore! One morning this month, I woke up early and decided that I wanted to find my center and trust my faith and cleanse my energy. I chose to clean up my eating, reduce my sugar and white starch intake, increase my water intake 90% and find time to just breathe. I find that oftentimes we don’t take the time to appreciate the good things in our world; our small victories and small accomplishments always show great outcomes.
Along with my cleansing of inner health and beauty, I found that the following three beauty tips are helping me with cleansing my outer beauty:
I wake up an hour earlier to cleanse, tone, and moisturize. There is something spa-like about taking care of your skin. You get the best glowy finish look if you use a mask or exfoliate and moisturize the night before.
I apply my makeup — whether it be a half-BEAT or a full-BEAT. We spend so much time doing for others and shortchange ourselves, it makes me feel good just to know that I did something small that can result in a great BEAT day.
I take the time to really do my hair. Not a quick rush five-minute blow-out, but at least a good 20 minutes set aside to really put it on. Nothing compares to freshly done hair; whether it be a weave, bun, chic and low ponytail, blow-out, wig or what have you. When time is put into your hair, you could have on a paper bag and still walk the street like it’s your runway.
Now I pass the pen and ask you… what kind of self-improvement will you take a little extra time in your morning, mid-day, or evening to do? Take more time to breathe? That long bath? That glass of wine? That chill moment in the park with your phone on airplane mode? Taking a few extra minutes to do your makeup? Let us know!
