Happy=Pretty

One of my first assignments for my production class was to take a self portrait that conveyed our personality in some way. It was based on this awesome article/project.

I'm a pretty girly girl. It's ironic because throughout my life I've found it incredibly difficult to find girls I'm really compatible with and make girlfriends that last longer than a year or two. I've always found it incredibly easy to befriend guys though. It's weird. But yeah, I'm very feminine. I own three pairs of jeans, and about a million dresses and skirts. I wear heels at least two or three times a week. I enjoy doing my hair and makeup and shopping and making/buying beauty products and generally just playing around with my appearance and attempting to make myself look good on a daily basis. You could say I know a little bit about grooming/style/beauty.

The main, most important thing I've learned through all this is that my appearance is almost entirely determined or at least very much affected by my mood and outlook on life. It's insane, really, how much they're related. When I am happy, when I feel loved, excited about life, and thrilled about/grateful for my current situation I look in the mirror and feel radiant. My eyes look bluer, my skin feels clearer and smoother, my hair looks voluminous and beautiful without even having to do anything with it, and I feel thin and confident in anything I put on. I smile and feel like people notice, i walk down the street and feel like I'm worthy of being admired.

When I'm depressed, when I feel alone, sad, angry, hopeless, cheated, or generally unexcited about life I look in the mirror and no matter how hard I try I feel like I can't make myself look presentable. It doesn't matter how perfectly I curl my hair or how many little brushes and shades of eyeshadow i use or how cute my outfit is. I just feel and look blah and gross and mediocre, just like I feel inside. It's frustrating, but also very enlightening.

I've come to conclude that happiness really does equal beauty. That's the biggest beauty secret I have. The more happy and excited about life you are, the more beautiful you will feel and look to yourself and the rest of the world. You know how you see some people walking down the street or in a class with you or at the grocery store and they just radiate beauty and positive energy, even if when it comes down to it they aren't really what's considered "typically" attractive? It because they're happy and  they're confident with themselves and it comes out in their appearance and body language. It's truly an amazing phenomenon.

So find reasons in your life to be grateful, to feel joy. It's good for the soul and it's good for your image! There's nothing better than feeling great about the world and then looking in the mirror and feeling even better about yourself. Happiness truly is the key to life-long beauty.

Have you ever experienced mood-appearance correlations? Do you feel more attractive when the world around you seems more attractive? Let me know, I'd love to know if you guys have had the same experiences as me :)

<3
Em