What is beauty?  Beauty can be described as something or someone who gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind. The fact is everyone has their own perception of beauty but today's media likes to take the lead in "telling" us what beauty is. Well, I refuse to be told what beauty is. I determine what beauty is.

Am I beautiful? It's a subjective question and to each person will respond differently but the question is; what do I think? Growing up I was showered with compliments of being my daddy's princess. I was told I was beautiful at least once a day. I believed with all my heart that I was indeed beautiful. I was confident and certain that I was going places in this world.

Then I grew up and left the complimenting walls of my home and ventured to a far off place to attend college. The college I attended seemed to be filled to the brim with the most beautiful women in the world. Suddenly, I would question the reflection that I saw in the mirror, "are you beautiful?" without the reassuring showers of compliments my confidence dwindled and I even felt ugly at times. This shift in persona led to overeating, anxiety and retraction.

It took me time to realize that beauty doesn't lie in compliments. Beauty doesn't lie in my reflections. Beauty doesn't lie in whether I can fit into a pair of skinny jeans. No. Beauty lies within my being. I am beautiful when I am grounded. I am beautiful when I am happy. I am beautiful when I am healthy. I am beautiful with stretch marks for they remind me of the miracles that I have been blessed with. I am beautiful when I am content with who I am and where my path of life is heading. Beauty lies in my certainty of a divine being.

I believe that beauty is not so much something you just see. I believe that beauty begins as a feeling and that feeling grows and radiates in the appearance of beauty.

I determine if I am beautiful. I do not believe that it is conceded to believe in being beautiful rather I think by telling and believing in my own beauty I radiate goodness and am able to see the beauty in those around me with increased clarity.

Ask yourself, "Am I beautiful?" The answer is up to you. You don't need to visit the salon or go on a shopping spree to be beautiful you just have to decide that you beautiful. Decide to be beautiful and feel the transformation.