Everyone comes into college with their own thing. For some people its craziness. For others its weirdness. For some people its just total boredom. Well, for me and my roommate, it was just basically whatever we made it with whatever we had. So it was a mix of all three, and possibly more. (That's debatable) Anyway, we had fun ways of doing things, and one of those ways was giving people names. Like if we saw someone and didn't know their name, but wanted to talk about them, we'd just call them something that would make us know who they are. Many names came out of this - Hyperactive, Hyperactive boo, Stunnaz, Proactive, Proud Family, LBC, Eww, The good boy, and many more. Some of them were full sentences too. Amidst all these unique names that we gave to people based on what they did or said, there is one name that reoccurred several times. Make-up. So, a conversation would go like this. "Hey, I saw make-up today. She looked really nice. Her hair was curled and everything, and her blazer was a real nice shade of yellow". "Oh, which make-up"? "The one with the longer darker hair". "Oooohhhh, that one. Yeah, she's always so nicely dressed."
As you can probably already tell, the reason why these girls were called make-up is because they wore an outrageous amount of make-up...everyday. You never saw them without make-up, so we just called them "make-up". Quite fitting I know, but that's not my point. Behind all this name giving, my roommate and I always wondered why these girls had to paint their faces so much. They are very pretty girls, and you'd think they'd be proud and embrace their natural beauty. Unfortunately, it's the opposite.
Make-up is an amazing thing, and you know, its nice to be able to change up the colour of your eyes, and lips, and wear longer eyelashes. I looked up the top 10 reasons why women wear make-up, and according to The Sundance Channel, the number one reason is to "be your own beautiful". Women, and maybe even men like to be beautiful, and they express it in make-up. It is an amazing thing to be able to do that! However, this same amazing thing, I think, is the root of this issue why people will never go without make-up - They want to be beautiful. I'm not going to sit here and say make-up doesn't enhance beauty, because oh my, would that be a lie! But if the reason that we wear make-up is to be beautiful though, then there is a problem.
As a child, I loved watching my mom put on make-up and it was fascinating to me. Because of that, I wanted to start wearing it too. I wanted to be able to be pretty! To cut the long story short, my mom never let me wear make-up at a young age. Why? I complained and cried, and I wanted to do it soooo badly. I mean, why would you be telling me not to do something you let me watch you do? Whenever she wasn't home I'd go and get some and wear it, and when I heard her horn, I'd go wash it off, and act like it was all cool.
Well I decided to ask her about it one day when she once again denied me the privilege to wear it. She nicely told me that I was already beautiful and didn't need make-up to make me beautiful. She told me that God still loved me, and she loved me, and that anyone that truly loved me would love me with or without make-up on. Best believe this - until I fully understood that, she didn't let me wear make-up.
This is where I'm going with this. Where do we draw the line between wearing make-up to be our own beautiful, and wearing make-up to feel beautiful? Where does our identity lie? In mascara, foundation and concealer... or in Jesus, family and love? Think about it. Many of these girls that wear make-up to enhance their beauty have made it so much of a habit that their identity unknowingly starts to get defined by make-up. Keyword - unknowingly. The moment someone begins to feel as though make-up completes them, and that they look terrible without it, then identity crisis sets in. There is that belief that make-up just makes them better, and after all, looks are everything right? It just takes one day, and then the next day, and then.... "this makes me look amazing!".... and then the next day, and the next. and the next.... and all those that follow. And slowly but surely, make-up begins to define you, and who you think you are.
I'm the one to fall for an absolutely gorgeous man, and am definitely the one to say good looks are a maximum plus, but listen. This may just be my opinion, but if you're reading it, there's a reason why. Wearing make-up everyday does not make you beautiful. It gradually makes you insecure, slowly takes away your self-worth, and rapidly chips away at your sense of identity. Im not a psychologist or anything, but if you doubt me, think of someone you know that wears make-up everyday without fail. Just tell them to go a day without it, and listen to allllllll the excuses they come up with to NOT do that. You'll be surprised at what you'll hear. It's as little as some foundation to even out your skin tone or some concealer to cover up those black heads. But what is important is recognizing the people that appreciate you without that concealer or foundation on. Find the one that tells you "You're amazingly beautiful" when you don't have make-up on. Remember that no matter what, your identity lies in Christ, and being made in God's image, you are beautiful! - With or without any facial enhancers.
That little girl in me is still alive! If you know me, you know I LOVEEE make-up. Have I gone a week without it? Yup! As a matter of fact, the last couple of days I haven't worn ANY make-up at all. When it's time to go out for some drinks, our when i get any opportunity to get dolled up, will I wear it? Sure thaing! Because I love to express myself in colour and improve my expertise with facial creativity. I don't wear make-up because I think it makes me beautiful. I wear it because I think it lets me express my own beautiful, and be it too!
Make-up is an absolutely beautiful blessing to women, but never forget, any blessing turned upside down, is a curse. Society makes us believe that to be beautiful you have to use Loreal, Mac, Maybelline, Almay, Estee Lauder, etc. They get the most beautiful celebrities to endorse their products, and tell me, isn't Beyonce, or Eva Longoria, or Queen Latifah, or Halle Berry beautiful? And it's just some make-up! Don't try to believe that it's just make-up. The moment you take it for granted, it begins to define key aspects of your life, and makes very significant changes to the person you think you really are. Real beauty is not something you want make-up to take away. It's something you want people to see through make-up.
That's all about make-up and identity...as i do it.
Inspired by : Kristie Martel
~***shanpepe***~
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