Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Perfect Imperfection

I returned to an empty house this Wednesday evening after dinner with family; my father's 52nd birthday celebration. One roommate was on a date, the other at a concert. 

I did minimal tidying up in the kitchen, the sugar at the bottom of my morning coffee cup was crystallized by the heat of a day spent in my car. I walked upstairs to my room, kicked off my heels and sat down at my vanity, where my Mac camps out most of the time. I enjoyed the quiet, so I chose to leave my T.V. and music off. 

I put my hair up and clicked on a lamp; starting to browse blogs and think about sleep, when I looked up and caught my reflection in the mirror. 

You look pretty right now, I thought to myself as I went back to reading. 

My immediate next reaction was: When was the last time I told myself that? 

Honestly? It's been a while. 

For some reason I've been focusing solely on my flaws recently. I haven't looked at myself without mentally assessing imperfections: you need more sun, you need to take care of that blemish, you need to exercise tomorrow, etc. I now feel exhausted by it. I'm better than this. I won't say that I don't care about appearance at all, because that would be a untrue, but in no way should I find myself so preoccupied with it. There are too many things about myself to like to get hung up on what I consider shortcomings. 

Perfection is not in the cards, but I find that realization kind of perfect in and of itself.

I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true.
-Audrey Hepburn 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we all need to tell ourselves we look pretty once in a while. All too much we look to others (usually guys) to remind us. But hey, we're pretty! I'm glad you noticed it too!

Piper Jacquelyn said...

I'm so glad to hear you say this about yourself! You honestly are very pretty & deserve to feel that way every day! It's hard, but we must remind ourselves!

Megan said...

I think you are beautiful! Can't wait to see you tomorrow... xo -MD

Bethany Michelle said...

"Perfection is not in the cards, but I find that realization kind of perfect in and of itself."

... Love. It. You're fantastic (AND pretty!! :) ) Miss you so, SO much. xoxo

Andhari said...

You ARE beautiful, and I think more girls need to tell themselves this. We should appreciate ourselves before others do :)

The Professional Bridesmaid said...

Great saying.Sometimes we get so fixated on what we can do better that we forget to acknowledge the things are completely perfect.