Series Guest blogger: Megan

Being comfortable in your own skin comes from within, you cannot make yourself more beautiful on the outside than the inside. no amount of makeup and sparkle can make you glow like being comfortable in your own skin can.

When i look back over my life, i see the changes i underwent in certain stages. One stage comes to mind that i don’t love about myself. That one year where i thought my parents kinda were embarrassing and i couldn’t go places with grubby clothes on or without make up on, or be seen in Walmart, and material things only mattered. Ugh, just the thought of it pierces my heart and i feel sad I was that type of girl, and happy that it’s certainly not me today. I love my parents, Walmart is now my favorite place, and i love every chance i get to go somewhere without a little something on my face. i do believe it’s because, “I am comfortable in my own skin.” Now, i know that stage in my life, many teenagers experience also. yet overcoming it is something that i wish for everyone. Luckily, mine i stumbled upon.

i was eighteen years old when it finally hit me, i had an internal experience with myself i wish everyone could experience. i had just spent close to 4 months in Haiti, teaching english and working in a village as a volunteer. i experienced culture shock to the greatest and was lost. while being in Haiti, i felt depressed, i couldn’t change anything in the country, or give them material things to buy them happiness. i noticed the people there were happy though, which seemed so weird to me because they had nothing to make them happy. well, the things i thought brought happiness, cars, houses, fine clothing etc. i also noticed how nice the children were to play with, all they wanted was for you to hold them. they didn’t need toys, They needed love, and that is what i could freely give to everyone there. my last two months were focused on them and not me, i loved everyone i came in contact with. how good it felt to know that i wasn’t focusing on myself for once, i was putting others first. it changed me, i was comfortable in my own skin because i was happy internally.

The time arrived for me to return home. i had gained close to 30 lbs. my clothes didn’t fit to well. I remember sitting on the plane anxiously awaiting to see my family at the airport. Not worried about what i looked like. It felt so good. it was a time of thanksgiving.

The next day i went shopping to get some new pants because i had outgrown all of my clothes. i remember telling my mom the way i had felt about myself and talking about running into people who i knew and what they would think about me. i told her “it doesn’t matter my size, someone can look at me and think whoa, she really gained weight while she was gone. but do they really know me mom? no, if they did, they would say, Megs, is fun to be around, how cool that she just got back from a 4 month service trip. that’s what they’d say if they really knew me mom. a persons appearance on the outside has nothing to do with what kind of a person they portray themselves to be on the inside.”

Right there i had learned my greatest lesson, i was a young 18 forming a individual. i was my own person, i didn’t need things to make me pretty, i was already beautiful because i was grateful to be me. From time to time, it’s still hard to feel accepting about myself because it’s so easy to be caught up in our fast pace world. Yet at the end of the day, i know that I'm comfortable in my own skin. This life is all about working towards something, we don’t have to be perfect, we just have to try to perfect and tweak to help ourselves shine brighter.

I use this quote often from the movie, Hope Floats, “mama said, beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts.” Don’t let the beginning of being comfortable in your own skin be a scary process. Trying to accept yourself and who you want to become is the part that counts.

I met Megan at the dental hygiene college. I don't know anyone who doesn't love her. She is one of the kindest and wittiest people I know. And she has amazing style. I can only dream of being as beautiful as she is. I love her entry because she discussed a topic that is difficult for a lot of people: being comfortable with your body. She and her husband live in southern California. She is currently working full-time as a dental hygienist. You will absolutely love her blog: That's a wrap.