Haircuts, Makeovers, and Hamster Wheels

Today I got my haircut, and with new bangs and two inches off it looks a bit different. I always love getting my haircut. Even when I was younger I would look up pictures and imagine myself with Mary-Kate or Jessica Alba hair. Somehow this would make me be a different person, as if sitting down in the salon chair and an hour of good smelling products (side note: my hair still smells like Aveda right now and I'm wondering how long I can go without shampooing so it stays...) would make me into a different woman, more confident maybe, but definitely more attractive.

As IF that would change me! I find myself putting this mentality into everything I do, from working out to putting on a new outfit. But after 30 minutes of plodding along on the treadmill ( i feel like a hamster, always running and never getting anywhere ) or another day of belting a cardigan and wearing a scarf, I realize the sadness of it all.

As a woman finding her faith, I realize that my identity should not be rooted in looks and magical makeovers, but in character. Please don't get me wrong, I am not getting on a soapbox and preaching to the choir, this is something that is stuffed down our throats, Proverbs 31 and on and on. So that's not my point in this post. Instead I encourage self-descriptions such as beauty, poise, and elegance to become apart of our vocabulary.

My simple call out into this cosmic void is for a re-evaluation. We are beautiful creatures created by God and admired by many.

"I, Woman, am that wonder-breathing rose
That blossoms in the garden of the King."
-ELSA BARKER, The Mystic Rose

So take in that confidence, but don't let it go to your head. You have a heart and mind, so use it! Looks are not everything, a character is important. Likes, dislikes, values, morals, decisions, ideas, dreams, imaginations... let your MIND have a makeover. Dream, Discover, Explore your own ideas, your own thoughts. What a beautiful time we live in. College, a time of exploring art, philosophy, science, theology. Cultivate your mind and heart, a confident woman is a beautiful thing.

And so to end this long-winded post i leave with one of my favorite quotes by Kahlil Gibran

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart”