On April 29th, 2011 the world watched as a normal, middle class girl made all of our dreams come true as she married her Prince Charming...a real live Prince! When Kate Middleton married Prince William, the fantasy of all little girls sprang to life and someday she will get to be the Queen of England. How many of us have watched our Disney Princesses kiss their fairytale Princes and dreamed that someday it could be us? I know I did. There was time when I was young that I saw Prince William in pictures and just knew someday he would come to America, whisk me away and I would be snogging him on that balcony. Obviously that didn't happen, but I was blessed to get marry very own prince charming, the Mr. Charles McGee in February of 2007 and have the two most wonderful children God ever made. I got my happily ever after after all.
When little girls are born, they are all the prettiest, smartest, sweetest things their mothers have ever seen. Every little girl born into this world is, in my opinion, a princess. We all start out that way. We dream big, imagine big, and love big. One of the greatest tragedies in this world is when a girl stops feeling like a princess and starts believing she is worth less and deserves less than what she should have in life.
I have always taken pride in my appearance and capabilities. I would even admit to a touch of vanity every now and then, but always (I hope) with the humility I was raised to have. Do I believe myself to be the prettiest, smartest girl ever conceived? NO! Not by a long shot, but I fully advocate for every girl and woman to have a very positive sense of self worth and self esteem. A little humble self assurance and/or confidence can make every aspect of your life happier and less stressful.
I have met several girls, especially since entering my career that have lost themselves somewhere along the way. Either they have never seen themselves as smart or beautiful or they have let some loser man make them believe they aren't. Weight issues also take a huge toll on the self esteem of so many girls. For some, they start out heavy, lose weight, and still don't see the hot new figure in the mirror or they may gain weight over the years or get the dreaded post baby body that is near impossible to live with. Trust me, I know my spectacular full C boobs turned into saggy B's and will never be the same after breastfeeding two babies!
I think the key is to make a conscious decision that you will start to focus on the positive traits you have and force yourself to make an effort on your appearance and mind power. I am not saying you have to dress to the nine's, put on full makeup and read three newspapers everyday, but little pick-me-ups every now and then really do make a difference. Buy a new shirt for no reason, put on some mascara, go by yourself to Waffle House on a Sunday morning for a cup of coffee and read the paper. There is something really empowering about going alone to restaurant. You cannot rely on other people to make you feel good about yourself just like you should never allow anyone to make you feel worthless!
Seven years ago I had a traumatic event take place in my life effecting several people very close to me. I was depressed and suffering from anxiety attacks. I didn't care about much of anything. I didn't worry about what I was wearing and rarely put on makeup like I always had. One day I went to see my mom and I was still in my downward spiral. She said something like, "why don't you just try to put on some makeup or get dressed and go somewhere? I know you would feel better." She knew this new drab, melancholy girl before her was not the daughter she raised. That really made me realize how far I had fallen. I went to counseling and started taking medication for depression and anxiety. Eventually, I discovered that the meds were making me completely devoid of any emotions happy or sad and the counseling didn't really help that much so I quit it all. Over time I was able to pull myself out and decided I had to go on with life. Another time my youngest sister was going through a funk of her own and my middle sister finally told her, "you can either choose to be happy or choose to be sad. It is up to you." I don't know if truer words were ever spoken. As a medical professional I know that true mental illness and clinical depression does exist and there are times when physician assisted intervention is necessary. I don't want to discredit that or discourage anyone from seeking out help that they actually need, but I feel like in most cases the decision on how we want to live our lives is totally up to us!
Women are powerful, beautiful creatures who deserve to be loved, respected, and appreciated from the second we are conceived (of course our male counterparts deserve the same in return). We all start out as little princesses and deserve to end our lives as queens. My wish is that every little girl, teenager, and fully grown hottie is able to look at themselves in the mirror and see herself for the smart beauty that she is and NEVER sell herself short or let anyone make her feel like she is less than stunning.
"No one can make you feel inferior without your permission!"
