A topic has come up way too much for me not to pay attention to it. In conversation, on my feed, from a podcast… and I have some big feelings and big things to say about it. My biased opinion might be skewed and half of you might say “hell yes” to it while the other raise an eyebrow and think it’s my own judgement – but I want you to know coming from me, it’s not. It’s not judgement to WHAT you do (and here’s the caveat) IF it makes you deep-down-truly happy.
I care if it makes you truly happy, makes you feel good, does good for you, there is medical reasoning, etc. I care a lot about that because that means it’s giving you life & you enjoy it. I Have A Lotta Fucks for that. But if it’s not, then let’s start questioning things.
I have a video I shared on Instagram HERE for my walk-up song.
I want, no I need, to have this conversation and put this message out to the world and to our youth about the extent we are changing how our physical bodies look. You and I both know and see it, there’s the extensions, and the lashes, and the brows, and nails, and filler, and botox, and whatever else I’m too naive to know about. The beauty industry has GLOWED up recently – props to it. But it’s also sending some very permanent messages to the ones who will be affected by it the most. Our youth.
You’ve seen the videos about the teens making videos and dancing these days compared to the bee bopping awkward home videos we made as kids. There’s an evident difference in style.
And the message towards these kids is that: THIS is what is normal, THIS is what people are doing, THIS makes you cool, these services make life more EFFORTLESS.
…. but does it?
Does spending 50% of your free time keeping up with these services both from a time investment AND a financial investment make sense? My bigger question… does it give you peace? Does it feel good? And if it does… if you really dive deep into YOU and you can answer that question with a big, fat YES – then cool! Amazing! I love that for you! I have many people in my life that engage with all of the above. I just don’t know if our youth have the LIFE in them to be able to know that answer for themselves.
If you don’t like the lashes…
If the extensions are too much work…
If the nails are too expensive…
If the filler doesn’t feel like you…
Your own lashes are perfect for you.
Put that hair in a bun, mess it up & feel free.
Your natural nails will do the same job.
Let it go and go back to you.
Here’s some thoughts I’d like to pose:
* if you are doing it out of insecurity, there’s a bigger fish to fry.
* If you are doing it to fit in, go find you first.
* If you’re doing it to impress anyone other than you, nobody cares about you as much as you.
* If you’re doing it and can’t afford it, you’re smarter than that.
* If you’re doing it and it takes up most of you’re free time, does that give you peace?
* If you’ve been doing it and one day realize, it just isn’t YOU, you can stop anytime no questions asked.
* If you think you have to, you don’t.
I definitely also want to touch on the fact that I am completely and absolutely blessed. I am blessed to have a healthy lifestyle and family genetics that fit into that. No matter if I had a thin, average or large frame body, you can have insecurities in all which is why I don’t chalk up ‘genetics’ to be a huge factor here. My mother never wore makeup, never had to ‘do’ her hair, my father gently commented that he liked us natural, my body growing up was meant to be strong and active and gave us the ability to do more things if we took care of it. We didn’t talk about looks. We didn’t talk about appearance. Because it didn’t matter to them.
I just want you to know that caring about your looks doesn’t have to be your norm. Changing your looks doesn’t have to either. If you choose to lean in or out one day because you do the work to realize what really makes you happy – that’s cool with me. There was an influencer / MLM mentor / podcast host I recently found who has a thriving business. Within that time of her building this business and gaining this momentum & money she’s never experienced before, she found herself doing the hair and the nails and all the things. Long story short… had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment and realized one day that the none of those things were really HER. She just wasn’t a nails girl. So it goes beyond what you can afford, or the person you’ve grown up to be or what people expect of you in the position that you’re in. It comes down to just truly being you and holding ground for that.
All in all, I just want you to know you can find contentment, love, happiness, and peace from many things that the world isn’t telling you that you need.✨
I love this, Brynn. I’m going to think about this for weeks now, maybe months. And reflect on how to raise our kids!
Lysm
Leah