Beauty from the eyes of a teen.

Until I was about 14 years old, I longed to be the perfect little princess looking child. With the long, blonde flowing hair, tall and thin with doe like eyes, and luscious long lashes.

As a big fan of Barbie Dolls, one could easily see where I got this illusion of beauty. I myself was very much the opposite of a Barbie Doll with my dark hair, olive skin and very little height. Over the years, I pondered the idea that there is only one type of “ideal body,” or  “perfect body,” and all that. It wasn’t until my early teens when I realized that it wasn’t just the Barbie Dolls.

Overly photo-shopped people were everywhere!

Magazines, billboards…it wasn’t just me. A whole world of teenagers were being faced, like I was, with all the pressure to look like these photo-shopped models, and with the idea that there was only one sort of ideal body. That there was only one way to be beautiful. I realized this wasn’t true.

Beauty is everywhere!

It comes in all shapes and sizes, and to me now, true beauty is being true to yourself. Being confident, being healthy, and most importantly, being happy with yourself. Once I had found that satisfaction within myself, everything around me seemed to change. I felt happy when I saw myself in the mirror each morning. Even with my sleepy eyes and bed hair, my eyes shone with happiness and health, and now, every  day I realize how lucky I am.

I entered Miss Galaxy Australia Pageants with the hope of spreading the word of my definition of beauty out there. I submitted a photo of myself, with the caption as follows: “I wish to be able to send a message to every girl out there in the world, that they are beautiful and gorgeous, each in their own way.”

I think that society at the moment has a very clear idea about how girls should look, and they are not afraid to put that forward, but I want to tell the world that everyone is beautiful in their own way. Appearance is a big issue for adolescents, and it can lead to all sorts of mental problems, such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety etc.

I want to be able to send out a message, and help these people. You don’t have to change your appearance to feel accepted, and you don’t need to believe that to be beautiful you must look a certain way.

Beauty is only skin deep, and if your inside is positive, your outside will glow radiantly, which I believe is beautiful.

My ambition is to let everyone know this message, and the true meaning of beauty. People sometimes do need to be reminded that they are beautiful. Lets face it, we all have our bad days. I certainly have my bad days, when my hair looks like is has been plugged into an electric socket, and I have bags under my eyes as big as a pandas! But hey, they can’t all be good days.

Being a national finalist for Miss Teen Galaxy has been something I never would have imagined. When the Facebook voting started, I was a nervous wreck. That was when I started doubting myself and having all kinds of negative thoughts. I sat by the computer for hours, wondering whether I should share the photo to my Facebook page and ask my friends to vote. When I finally decided to, with the help and support of somebody who I love very dearly, I was surprised and very excited about how many votes I got. When I realized that I made it to the National Final, I was ecstatic.

Australia Galaxy Pageants encourages it’s participants to fundraise, as beauty is also about giving back to the community, and being compassionate. I have decided to fundraise for Make-A-Wish foundation, and also Australia Wildlife Warriors.

I am very excited to further my Australia Galaxy Pageants journey, and to spread my message about beauty.

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Apprentice Editor: Kimby Maxson / Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Elephant Archives