As some may know already, my platform is mainly empowering women and girls regarding social media. From a young age, I knew that I really wanted to change how girls saw themselves. I’ve seen people, including myself, compare themselves to celebrities who have nutritionists, 2+ personal trainers, they go to the gym 24/7, and probably have had botox or plastic surgery of some sort. I’ve had so many nights where I just stare at the ceiling wishing I look like them, and then I would think that would lead me to happiness. But I realize it now that it would never lead me to pure happiness.
Social media is where people post their happiest moments. The traveling, concerts, nights with friends etc. It is also the place where people post the photos that they think they’re the prettiest in or their favourite one out of a photoshoot. With that in mind, everything is edited to some extent. If it’s a selfie, there’s editing on the brows to make them more arched, or to blur out pimples that may have popped up. Even if it looks natural, it most likely isn’t. So when younger girls, see that their favourite celebrities or creators start somehow having such clear skin, or the tiniest waist, they start to wonder why don’t they have that. That’s how EDs can start, or the anxiety to be “perfect”.
A year ago, I wouldn’t leave the house without covering my acne with some concealer, or fixing my uneven brows and trying to contour my nose. For some instagram photos, I would take at least 100, because I didn’t like how my waist looked in it, or the way my hand was placed. Sometimes I wouldn’t even post because of one little thing that I only noticed that I think would ruin the entire photo. Everything I posted was edited and was posed. Nothing was candid. So, only July 15, at 9:53, I took a selfie and just posted it. No editing anything. Since then, I’ve had a lot more confidence and post often about this on my pageant instagram page (miss.teenagecanada2020). Something I’ve started doing is trying my best not to edit pictures, but if I were to do any sort of editing from the normal picture, I would put in the caption what app I used and what changed.
Without this pageant journey, I would not have gotten here and gained all this confidence. If all my posts are edited, that makes me a hypocrite because that goes against my platform and everything I believe then. If I don’t have the confidence to do something like that, how do I expect others to do so? I do like my other pictures that I have posted in the past, but people need to know that there’s apart of it that is fake.
Everything in life is you against the little voice in your head. Beauty is not defined by numbers on a scale or whether your skin is crystal clear. It is from the inside. If you got an amazing personality, I know for a fact you are so gorgeous. Stop comparing yourself to others you see online and in real life. You got this, I believe in you and am so proud of everything you’ve already accomplished and can’t wait to see what else you do.