I was struck by a post a friend shared on Facebook the other day showing five photos of herself that made her feel beautiful. It got me thinking about which five photos I would choose of myself.
I haven't been feeling very pretty lately. I mean this in a "I'm trying to be honest", not "fishing for complements" kind of way. You know how some days, you feel prettier than others? It's just that those days seem to happen a lot less frequently than they used to. This isn't something that plays heavily on my mind or keeps me up at night - it's more of a casual, passing observation.
I started trolling through my old photos, trying to decide which five photos I felt captured my beauty. As it turns out, I couldn't narrow it beyond 6 photos, and this is why:
1. This photo was taken in October 2013 on Gracie's first trip to the beach. Even though half my face is outside of the frame, the happiness is so apparent.
2. This photo was taken in June 2011 at my university graduation ceremony. As I'm currently outlining in my career story, the path through university was not an easy one for me, and the pride and joy I felt this day was immense.
3. This photo was taken in a regional town in Mexico - possibly Oaxaca - in May 2010. I was on the (school) trip of a lifetime, travelling with some of my best friends throughout regional Mexico. Shane and I were in the beginning stages of dating, and our bond truly formed through emails and Skype trips while I was away. Being with someone who gave me the space to live my dreams was a new and surprising gift. I have this big dopey smile plastered on my face in practically every photo from this trip.
4. When Shane and I moved to London, I found it really hard to make friends. I wasn't used to starting in a country without knowing anyone, and I found the isolation exceptionally tough. I eventually made some amazing, life-long friends, but it wasn't easy. This photo was taking during a rare night out (somewhere in 2011 or 2012), and the joy I felt at having a solid group of girlfriends was huge.
5. This was the first wedding Shane and I attended together. One of his cousins was getting married in Ireland, and we made the trip from London to attend. It would have been around October 2011, and it was the first proper introduction I had to a lot of Shane's extended family. This picture summarises Shane and I perfectly - he makes me laugh every single day.
6. I have included this bonus picture from a few weeks ago, because it is one of the few pictures taken in the past year in which I truly feel beautiful. There's no wonder why - I'm surrounded by some of my best friends, my sister and her boyfriend, and Shane. I'm in a city that I love, and I'm truly happy.
I felt a bit silly when I started this - what good would looking at old photos be? How very self-indulgent! However, I hoped that in picking these five photos, I could try to draw out a common thread - to pinpoint how to feel more beautiful. In purely physical terms, I think the moral of the story is I should make a greater effort to wear my hair down and put in my contact lenses - clearly I feel prettier when I've done this.
However, more than anything, this exercise demonstrated that for me, my beauty is most apparent in the moments of true joy. None of these photos are overly staged - the are moments of joy and confidence and laugher.
Beauty isn't just about how you look on the outside. When I told Shane "I just don't feel that pretty these days", his response was "You look the same as you always did". This just reinforces the fact that beauty is more about how you feel than how you look.
If I haven't been feeling pretty lately, maybe it's because I haven't been feeling as many of these blissful moments. It's so easy to get stuck in the rut of work / eat / errands / sleep to lose sight of the importance of the pursuit of truly blissful moments.
I would encourage you to try the same exercise - find five photos of yourself that you think are truly beautiful, and explain why. Where do you find your beauty? This may be something you do privately, although if you are willing to share, please share your post in the comments below and link up on Instagram using the #5beautifulmoments hashtag.
We should all take the time to celebrate the beauty in life, even the beauty that shines from within ourselves.
Loved this post, Delaney! Thank you so much for sharing this. The lovleiest kind of beauty is the one that shines from within. You are gorgeous, inside and out.
Found you through #fireworkpeople :)
Posted by: Gaby Compres | 07 March 2015 at 08:05 AM
Oops! I meant to say loveliest :)
Posted by: Gaby Compres | 07 March 2015 at 08:05 AM