"How do I look?" - This is  a question that we often ask. We are asking others a question we should be answering ourselves. We often seek the approval of those around us in hopes to fit a stereotypical genre of 'beauty' that society is trying to form. What we should be doing is stop focusing on appearances so that we can start focusing on what's important in ourselves, as well as others. 
  
  I just recently read a quote from actress and mother, Jada Pinkett Smith. After her daughter, Willow, shaved her head she was asked by a reporter why she let her do it. This was her response:
       
           "The question why I would LET Willow cut her hair. First, the 'LET' must be challenged. This is a world where women, girls, are constantly reminded that they don't belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power, or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit, and mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair. It's also a statement that claims that even little girls should have the RIGHT to own themselves and should not be a slave to even their mother's deepest insecurities, hopes, and desires. Even little girls should not be a slave to the preconceived ideas of what a culture believes a little girl should be..."

  What an amazingly accurate statement. This is exactly what this True Beauty project is about. I obviously don't personally know Jada Pinkett Smith or her daughter Willow. But, after hearing her words spoken so true, I would love to one day photograph them for my project.

  I believe we are all born as a blank canvas. As we grow up and learn from lessons we are molded and shaped into who we will become. The people in our lives have the ability to create art in the form of a human. When we reach a certain age, we are handed the tools and materials we need to continue our own masterpiece. We gain control of the illustration that will be our future. At that moment, we choose what kind of painting we want to be. My family has played an incredibly influential role in my life-canvas. They have been a huge influence in who I am. Let's just say they've dumped a few paint buckets on my life. 
  There are some people in our lives that are not born into our family, but become a part of our family. (There will be a few more blog posts about these people in my life because there are a few too many for one post.) One family that has became very close with mine is the Wheatley Family. My step-mom babysat all three kids, Samantha (Sammie), Griffin, and Jordan from when they were babies. This family is truly a beautiful one. Kelly and Pat make two incredible parents to their awesome kids. The few things that I love about them is how they let their kids be who they are and fully accept them for it, they always have big smiles on their faces and have plenty of laughs to share. How lucky I feel to know them! <3