Be. You. Tiful.

     If you are reading this, I want to be certain that you know and truly trust that you ARE worth loving.  A week ago today, I attended a So Worth Loving party to kickoff/ fundraise for their tour. For those of you, which is most likely the majority, who do not know what on earth I am talking about, allow to shed some light on the subject.  So Worth Loving is an Atlanta (woot whoop) based life-stlye clothing brand and now movement that literally the goal is to boost self- confidence.  "Love you. Love people." Chew on that for a bit...once that is digested, I want you to apply it to your life.  It is absolutely mind- blowing how much more we get accomplished, and how much better we feel when we love ourselves.  We have to love ourselves to genuinely love and be loved.  Next time you look in a mirror, instead of saying, " If only I could lose that inner thigh," or "Ugh, I wish I had hair like so and so," say "Thank you, legs, for being healthy so I can do all that I can." or "Wow, I have a great smile!" Comparison is the thief of joy.  I am preaching to the choir, I am fully aware.  My name is Cierra Motes, and I am SO worth loving.  I am worth taking pictures because I am pretty enough.  I am worth chasing my dreams because I am not a failure.  I am worth not being afraid to feeling inadequate.  I am worth doing what makes me happy.  I am worth being pursued by an incredible guy.  I am worthy.  Do I believe all of this yes? No. But I will repeat it day in and day out until I do.  And then, I am going to spread that message.

People.

    People: the best part of life, and the worst. God's most precious, special creation was able to be its own downfall. Give us an inch, we take our life, and yours.  A creation created to create, created to love. Not to say we are above our Creator, for He is the reason, the purpose. People search their entire lives for THE "purpose" ; it's Him.  This purpose has different details pertaining to whomever is the subject, but, however, the purpose does not change.  Whilst searching for this purpose, somewhere along the line, very, very early on, we decided to redefine success. Money, fame, college decrees, awards, romancers, style, body image, how do these contribute to our purpose? And once we attain all these, what next? What does it do? Are History books written about the people who lived in a white-fenced not-so-humble-abode, with two kids, a trophy spouse, and a beach house in Florida? What happened to living for something other than ourselves? What happened to caring about anything other than ourselves? Commitment is unfamiliar word.  If we don't like something, change it, give up. Even though we know this will hurt us, and possibly others, well, they should have gotten out when they had the chance as well.  People can make us feel the best about ourselves(not that this is right.) No matter how good, or bad, we feel about ourselves, confirmation from another mouth seals the deal. People can make us feel the worst about ourselves. No matter how good, or bad, we feel about ourselves, confirmation from another mouth seals the deal.  Blades cut, so do words. Words hurt deeper, even, particularly when from someone you love, not necessarily a quote "lover", but it's much easier to get over a tearing-down from an enemy than someone you care(d) about.  Perhaps, the hardest, though, is hurting for someone else. A friend is hurt, and you can do nothing about it. Despite any attempts, they don't feel any better, aren't any more responsive, don't believe the truth you know to be to true.  They can't even be blamed or hated, for they're the victims, right? Of course, if you asked anyone, they'd probably confess to being the victim.  Everyone's been the victim. Everyone's been the bad guy, too. Sometimes, a lot of times, it's these experiences, not the "successful" things of life, that shape us into the person we can actually stand, perhaps even decently like, staring back at us in the mirror.