The Vision of Love

I was listening to Kris Allen’s new album the other day (which I immediately labelled my summer album after listening to the first 3 songs) and one song goes like this:

Make-up hides her face
‘Cause she feels out of place
She cries
Come on someone tell this girl she’s beautiful

I admit that I’ve been this girl on many occasions. I’ve seen this girl more times than I care to count. Sometimes she’s the girl sitting in the corner of the coffee shop. Sometimes she’s sitting waiting for the bus. Sometimes she’s walking down the street with her head down and sometimes no one ever sees her.

I’ve seen unfeeling young men mock her and though she often hides it well, I have felt her shame. I’ve seen the “cool” girls snub her and I have felt her pain. No matter how hard she tries, nothing seems to change. And the truth is, she’s not the one who needs to change. She’s beautiful just the way she is. And, if someone would look past her glasses or braces or out-of-date clothes or few extra pounds they would see that too. 

I’m tired of guys who make no apologies for not wanting messages from “fatties”. I’m tired of guys who let the door slam in the face of the shy girl. I’m tired of young men treating young women like they don’t matter. 

I wish that I could find every young woman like myself and help her to see that her value is not in how other people see her, but in how she sees herself. The way people treat her does not define who she is. She is beautiful just the way she is and one day, someone will realise just how much they’ve missed by letting her fade into the background, she will shine far brighter than those who spent all their time ignoring her.