Naturally Pretty.

My desire to be fairer and be rid of the patchy skin tone that I have has been higher than EVER. Every picture is clicked twice, once with filter and second time, sans it. It feels like such a “normal” thing to do: to use a “natural” looking filter which makes you fair, gives you rosy checks and pink lips. What could possibly be wrong about it? 

But over time, it’s COMPLETELY distorted my image of myself in my own head. If I don’t look like that, I’m not “naturally” pretty looking, cause that’s what the filter says, right? That’s what I see everyone posting with, looking “naturally” pretty but also, hiding the fact that there’s a filter on. 

There’s always going to be some unrealistic beauty standard that I’m going to be unable to meet, this however, makes that beauty standard EXTREMELY accessible at least as long as I’m online. But accessing it means, blurring my own perception of beauty for myself. I refuse to do that. 

Hence, the constant need to post unfiltered pictures and acknowledge that they are unfiltered. It’s for me probably more than it is for anyone else to see. But if you do see this, I hope you know that those filters are not what “normal” or “natural” is, YOU ARE. And I can say this without even seeing you, your natural is definitely more beautiful and worthy of any platform.