Confidence and Dreams

I went to a luncheon the other day with some of my girl friends. It was a lot fun and we talked about lots of stuff including self image. It seemed like all the girls said they could relate at one point or another. It must have been because of that I had the dream I did a few nights later.

In my dream, every morning when you woke up there were two people there to weigh and measure you. I got out of bed and there they were waiting for me like a scene from the Hunger Games Capitol, all dressed up holding a scale and measuring tape. I then had to stand and turn as they proceeded to measure my waist and height. Fashion and looks were really important in the alternative world and everyone knew the size and measurements of everyone else each morning as they were broadcast out like Facebook statuses. 

I remember generally observing these people and thinking how shallow they all were. I could also tell that their looks had become either a source of pride or cause for much depression and self-loathing. 

I continued to think on this after I woke up. Sadly, I think the world is closer to this then not. But just like in my dream, I don't think appearance is everything or a source of happiness. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that people should be well groomed and dressed appropriately. I also am one of those people who love to clothes shop and buy new accessories but I think that how we feel about ourselves is always more important. 

Personally, I think the most attractive feature is confidence. This is something I learned while at collage. It was the beginning of my Junior year that I realized it doesn't matter what others think of me as long as I am trying to be my best self. Confidence to me is not apologizing for who you are but knowing that you are a daughter (or son) of a loving Heavenly Father that has blessed us with so many gifts and talents we can hardly recognize them all. When I started to live they way, the number of friends I had sky rocketed and I started getting asked out on multiple dates each weekend. Obviously, my looks didn't change but the way people saw me did.

I don't mean to make this "Anna's Soap Box Post" but I do think this is important and I wish I could share this with so many of the women at church that have so much to share but don't or feel like they are not worthy of showing off their talents because they might be in some way inadequate. I know that sometimes I fail at this too but I do hope to always try my best to really understand and live with confidence because I know who I am a spirit daughter of and I have so much to share! If I live that way, I know that I will always be beautiful to my family and Heavenly Father.