We’re All the Ugly Duckling….and it’s OKAY!

01 Apr We’re All the Ugly Duckling….and it’s OKAY!

I remember growing up and serioulsy feeling like the biggest loser through most of elementry school. I had horrible crazy hair, I was the ultimate tom boy and spent most of my afternoons in the mud, even well after I started taking interest in boys.

Even in junior high and high school I was not “popular” by any means and often used my naturally flirty nature to gain attention from boys. I’m still very tomboy-ish. I love jeans, tshirts and a brand new hoodie is like heaven. I embraced “girly” things in my teen years and still hold onto my makeup and the occasional lacy shirt or even (gasp!) a skirt.

I know what it feels like to be the odd girl out. I had a baby when I was 19 years old and got SO fat during my pregnancy. To this day I’m overweight and have yo-yo’d back and forth from one spurt of healthy eating and exercise to the next. I’ve finally accepted my body as it is and am happy with all of it. It’s not perfect but it never will be. I will always have stretch marks. There is nothing to make that go away. I will always (apparently) have adult acne. Especially if I continue to not take the best care of my skin (i.e. not washing my face at night–it’s just such a pain in my butt!).

BUT…I do enjoy having my picture taken. It’s my time to either be silly, beautiful, cute and totally caught in a moment. There are really bad pictures of me (even on FB) and I dont delete them because they are still me. There are more pictures that I love of myself than I hate of myself.

I have known people that hated having thier picture taken. HATED IT. Would yell at me or anyone else for doing it. All that did was take the fun out of the moment that was being attempted to be captured on film. And it’s ONLY about insecurity. That’s it. All of that goes away when you decide that you are good enough right now, as you are in this exact moment.

Have you ever felt “not beautiful”? Like you were the odd girl out? Maybe like me,  you’ve always been tomboy-ish, or didn’t think you had particularly attractive features?

Maybe you think you have thin lips, maybe you have big hair, maybe you have NO hair (regardless of the reason!). Maybe you think your eyes are too far apart or you wear glasses. Maybe you think you have no boobs, or huge boobs. Maybe you have stretch marks, or eczema, or think you have bad teeth.

Maybe you’ve been called a nerd, geek, fat, loser, lame, beanpole, too tall, too short, too much or too little of someone else’s definition of what beauty is.

I got news for ya…we all have flaws!!! Every single one of us. And I’ll tell you something else: the people that love you do not care about any of those things. They love you in spite of or because of those things.

Any boudoir experience, despite what you may think, is not just for models, cheerleaders, actors or all the “beautiful people”. It’s not just about taking pictures in your underwear. Do I want you to bring your pretty underthings? ABSOLUTELY!

But I promise, you’ll also get incredible portraits of yourself laughing, smiling and enjoying your beauty. You wont be alone either because despite the fact that maybe I’m a stranger to you, I’ll be there with you all along the way showing you your images direct from my camera as it’s unfolding. As you are unfolding.

This experience is for every woman–including YOU! and YOU! and yes, even YOU!