I wanted to write a sweet and simple story that had a clear and positive message for kids. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a saying that is only half true. Modern society has always said beauty is in the eye of societal standards and the beholder. I can believe I'm a little pretty, but without getting the latest makeup from Sephora, I can't possibly look any better. Or, I can believe that I look pretty but I could look prettier with a diet and a scale. These are similar thoughts to what I had growing up. Beauty is always related to many factors, all of which were controlled by society. I've had my own personal struggles seeing the beauty in myself because of this. Specifically with my weight, throughout the years I've always felt my beauty for the day was determined by what weight society said I should be at. I didn't see beauty in myself or anything and grew slightly body dysphoria. I failed to see the beauty in me or around me.-years later, I have gotten better with my self-image (not completely though—still struggle with weight sometimes) and have been able to see the beauty within myself. And, as I looked around, I saw the beauty in many things around me. I wanted to share a message that there is always beauty inside you as well as around you and not get lost in trying to fit the societal definition of beauty. Thus, the name I chose for the book was “Beauty Is Me”.
