A Beauty Board Evolution

For a certain project, I was asked to create a couple of Beauty Boards or Beauty Mood Boards - basically these boards should show how I perceive beauty, what represents beauty for me, what factors enhance it, and what associations I have with it. I was supposed to create two because one should represent a Beauty Board I would have made over 10 years ago, and one should be my current Beauty Board. If they were just the same thing then I only needed to do one. 

However, I realized as I thought about the contents of my current Beauty Board that my associations with beauty from 10 years ago have changed so much, and that my previous Beauty Board showed things that put a lot of pressure on me before. Of course, up to a certain extent, they inspired me to look great, but they were not very realistic and only showed me what I am not or cannot be. And most of them were focused on how a girl should look on the outside.

On the other hand, my current Beauty Board contained images that went beyond the physical and were more inspiring. Generally, the Beauty Board of my current self showed more aspects of happiness and health which in turn allow beauty to radiate from a person. 

I cannot post the Beauty Boards here as I just grabbed the images from everywhere (^^U) But in a nutshell, here are some basic points I noticed as I filled each board with images of my beauty associations and perceptions from over 10 years ago, and beauty associations and perceptions now. 

Beauty Associations from Over 10 Years Ago:

• Being thin or skinny
• Having long, flowing hair which make a woman look 500x amazing when she flips it
• Because one is thin or skinny, she can wear even the tiniest of clothes and get away with it because her thinness or skinniness IS beautiful
• Swimwear, tiny skirts, and tube tops on Hed Kandi images
• Going to the gym to reach a state of perfect thinness
• Dieting - oatmeal and smoothies - to prevent weight gain

I was never skinny so it was such a struggle. I also had a boyfriend back then who made me enroll at the gym and told me what I could and could not eat. I tried to follow everything because being a young, needy girl, I wanted to be like all the skinny models he dated. (Plus, prior to that relationship, I had a boyfriend who broke up with me because for him I was too fat.) 

The clothes I owned back then were mostly short or small, so it was a problem when it was cold. Those occasions were rare though because I was always at the beach tanning myself away. (I always made it a point to stay or hang out in places where I could feel as close to my goals as I could.) 

I'm not saying that it is not beautiful to be thin or that I have anything against long flowing hair now (my hair is actually at its longest, ever, and the natural waves are coming out, and I love it :D), or that wearing tiny clothes is far from charming. I actually still watch my weight, though I have never gone back to the gym. I sometimes wear short skirts and still love buying swimwear. I don't diet, but I make it a point to make more healthy choices when eating. So the points above are not all wrong; it's just that they are no longer my associations with beauty at my age now. And when I exercise or watch what I eat, I have intentions other than trying to be skinny. I just grew out of it. And when I did, I somehow set myself free from the constant depression about never achieving the perfect skinniness or being unable to wear the extremely small sizes of clothes in some stores. 

I have small wrists, and that's about the only thing I was happy about myself over a decade ago. Now, I'm just happy about how the whole me can do so many things regardless of my size.

So after putting together the Beauty Board that represented my associations before, I made the one for Now:

• Being smart and knowing it
• Caring for one's skin and body through natural and safe ways
• Wearing pretty dresses that enhance one's natural shape or figure; the dresses do not have to be tiny or tight
• Running or exercising to be fit and healthy, not just to be skinny
• Dressing up for the style, not to show skin
• Enjoying the right kinds of food, and not fussing about calories or that they would go to one's hips
• Being able to laugh out loud and enjoy life with others
• Seeing the humor in little things
• Wearing the right kind of makeup for one's skin color and type
• Being able to step out of the house without any makeup on without feeling embarrassed about it
• Finding acceptance or being at peace with one's body type
• Generally feeling happy and healthy, which reflects on how a woman carries and presents herself

My current beauty associations still have a lot to do with a person's physical appearance, but they have extended to her mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects as well. In a nutshell, beauty for me isn't anymore about being skinny and wearing clothes that show it off; it also has so much to do with inner happiness, confidence, acceptance of one's natural / genetic body type, healthy habits, and being able to use one's brains in dealing with various situations. It is not about trying to be beautiful-like-someone-else, but finding one's own beauty and letting it shine.