# @lifesadiscoball on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BATitSqqwcN
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/8942543-lifesadiscoball-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/883200b239.jpg
- **Posted:** 2016-01-09T04:45:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Heather Petri (@heatherpetri) — https://gondola.cc/heatherpetri

## Caption

I almost didn't do a #365feministselfie tonight. Because look. Look how tired I am. I look at this picture and I see why so many women stay on the other side of the camera. 
Because I look at this picture and my first reaction is to see hair that is a mess. Not shiny and glossy like in the magazines. I see bags under my eyes and puffy skin. I see wrinkles and lines and blemishes. 
I see worry and fear and stress. My skin doesn't glow. My lips are too thin. And my nose, large, crooked and always a source of extreme insecurity - since the day the popular boy teased me on the bus in elementary school and told me it looked like a beak. 
But if I pause a little longer...and make myself look deeper, I see strength and perseverance. I see real life - one that has had many bright spots and many moments of darkness. 
If I'm candid, then I can tell you that beautiful is not the first word that comes to mind when I look at this picture. Instead, words like 'never enough' and 'not good enough' rise to the surface. 
But... ...I stop it there. And I talk to myself, as I would a dear friend, or my mom, or a God daughter or niece. With love and grace. 
And then I sing, "All of these lines across my face, tell you the story of who I am..." And then I tell myself that I am beautiful.

Let's love ourselves, shall we?

And you should too. Even when it's hard and you don't feel like it. Tell yourself you are beautiful. Because you are.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 20
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

365feministselfie

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