The term “beauty” is something that I’ve consistently wrestled with throughout my life. If I’m being honest, the idea of beauty had, more often than not, caused a mess of negative thoughts to swirl around in my mind. I often found that I compared myself not only to my peers and those around me, but to absolute strangers on social media. My identity was rooted solely in the eyes of society, and my focus was detained in the exhausting strive to please others. This commonly occurred in changing my appearance to feel validated based on the unattainable standards of society. In the pursuit of impossible perfection, I quickly realized that comparison is ultimately the thief of joy. The habit of comparison started out by innocently admiring other women around me, but it shortly turned into jealousy and severe scrutiny of myself to the point where I couldn’t admire anyone else’s beauty without believing it took away from my own. The truth is, someone else’s beauty does not equate the absence of your own.
In my life, I’ve learned that insecurity stems from not knowing who we are. Society is constantly changing and is utterly impossible to please. Over the years I’ve learned that God is ultimately consistent and never changing. My identity is found in the foundation of who I am, who God says I am, and who He is ultimately creating me to be. He has created you so intricately and intentionally—there is so much more to you than your outward appearance. In fact, your outward beauty is the least interesting thing about you. I encourage you to be kind to yourself, wear things that make you feel good, and be all you were created to be.
From a young age, fashion has always been an outlet for me to express myself and helped me become more confident in who I am. Although my fashion sense has evolved over the years (thank goodness), my favorite pair of olive green vintage overalls, a good thrifted crewneck, and plenty of accessories has never failed to make me feel confident in myself. I will forever stay loyal to my beloved staple neutral pieces, however I’m absolutely loving the bright 70’s/80’s inspired trends currently taking over the fashion world in my generation!
-Madison O'Connor
If you asked me six years ago if I ever think I’ll join the modeling world, an automatic “no” would come out of my mouth. It was a journey to get to the mental, physical, and emotional state I am in right now. With an overwhelming amount of family support, practicing self-development techniques daily, and becoming involved with the disabled community, self-love came and ultimately changed my trajectory. I acknowledged the lack of representation in the media of this marginalized community, and I wanted to change that for US to be seen. Because if I can show a disabled child that we can exist and take up space in these places, then I’ve fulfilled my purpose in this world.
-Anna Sarol
Wardrobe
Stylist: Amani Skalacki
Models:
Anna Sarol, Voices &
Madison O'connor