What do you love about yourself?
We love that question, and we also love that the Naked Project, founded by supporter Brandy Hagel, asked us to join in on their movement to break down the definition of beauty. The mission of The Naked Project is to feature photos and interviews of inspiring people with unedited, natural beauty with the purpose of empowering others to feel comfortable in who they are, with what they have.
Below is a note from Brandy about this project and our partnership. We couldn't agree with her more that we need to start talking more about what we love about ourselves. In interviewing our families for this feature, we learned so much from everyone, but it also gave us time to reflect. We hope that in reading what our families have to say, it reminds you to take a pause during your busy days to give yourself some love also.
"I decided to start ‘the naked project’ to showcase the raw, natural, vulnerable and unedited beauty that people have. Instagram can be a positive and motivational platform to many people, but it can also create a lot of negative self-talk, low self-esteem and mental health disorders that people, myself included, hide behind and don’t talk about. I wanted this page to be relatable, with hopes that we can stop comparing our worth to an unrealistic idea of beauty. I wanted it to inspire others to start talking about the things they love about themselves, instead of the things they hate or wish they would change. I hope it encourages people to feel beautiful in their own skin.
I wanted to interview our family members from Menelas because I’m interested to hear how they define beauty, and what they love the most about themselves. I think it will be humbling for readers to look at the interviews and photos of our family members and realize that beauty cannot be thought of as one definition, and that we are all beautiful with what we have and who we are."
Nicole, mom
What makes you feel beautiful?
\\ Its a personal thing. You have to allow it. If someone tells me I am beautiful I say I know I am. You have to be proud of who you are, and I am.
Mardochee, daughter, 16
What does beauty mean to you?
\\ My mind is my first beauty, then my face and my body is what makes me feel beautiful. I love all of me. Beauty comes from the inside out.
Check out The Naked Project on Instagram. Over the next few weeks, we'll share more interviews of our family members, so stay tuned!
Photo credit: Savvy Shots Photography