Last year, I read a book that Kris picked up at a book store closing called, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. This book came into my life at the most perfect time. I was beginning to notice some new developments (read: wrinkles) on my face that I became obsessed with.
The book, though over 20 years old, really made an impact. I started thinking about a lot of things. Why do I care so much about how I look? Why have I been trained to think wrinkles are bad? Why should my physical self define who I actually am? If my face fell off tomorrow, I’d still be the same passionate person who loves learning and doing new things, who has a silly sense of humor, and a person who wants to make a positive difference in this world. In a world so obsessed with beauty and demonizing flaws that are inherently human, it was really freeing to get to this state.
It was then I decided to add 3. Go to work one day without makeup to my list of 2013 goals. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to wear makeup, the problem is when you don’t feel as worthy without it. I don’t want to rely on makeup. I don’t want to feel like I’m better with it. And this is where my mental hang-up gets interesting. I can easily go out of my house without makeup. I do it all of the time. I have makeup-less pictures on Facebook. That doesn’t bother me. My issue is solely at work.
I would never go to work makeup-less. Ever. It makes me anxious thinking about it. I equate makeup with professionalism. For me, not wearing makeup to work would be like me wearing slippers and pajamas. Sure, it’s stupid and not a big deal to a lot of people, but this is strangely hard for me and there’s potential for some personal growth when I do accomplish this goal.
Knowing my hang-up, Kris challenged me to not wear makeup for a whole week. And I thought one day was hard enough.
As I was browsing through my Facebook galleries trying to find some pics of me without makeup to include in this blog post, I began to notice a trend. Many of my makeup-less pictures involve me scarfing down delicious food. I also like hats. A lot.
I haven’t decided when I’m going to complete this goal, but when I do, this is what you’ll see, my dearest coworkers.
— Lyssa
Eating a beignet! Love it!
So very delicious!