Ramble on Womanhood and Beauty, whatever that is.

I was sitting here looking over some photos I took recently and considering the angles on one (somewhat unflattering in my opinion) and my face in another (black and white, my hair and make up done..I think I look a bit lovely, honestly). I start thinking about beauty (that huge monster of a word) and the way women think of themselves in regard to it. It makes me so sad to think how some women constantly belittle themselves over this ridiculous idea that to be pretty or beautiful they must look like someone else, that being themselves, that the faces and bodies they were given are second-rate, are wrong. Maybe I was raised with insanely supportive parents (very likely). From an early age I was constantly complimented by my parents as well as strangers. I wasn't the Smartest or a baby pageant queen (thank goodness) but I was sharp and was a pretty good kid, and despite the angsty middle school years when I lost weight and the awkward high school years when I desperately craved a love life, I never felt ugly. Yes, I have days where I'm blue and I cry and look in the mirror and despise myself, but those days pass and for the most part, I like the way I look, and I like to dress myself in a way that makes my individuality even more pronounced.

I've always felt that in order to survive in this world, I need to feel that I am the absolute best at being myself. That no one can be Margaux as well as I can (granted I'm aware there are others with my name, even my spelling...you know what I'm saying). I may be goofy or awkward or shy sometimes. I may get runs in my stockings, my make-up may run, my nails may be short, I may be a lowly restaurant girl, saving my pennies, but at the end of the day I have to believe that there's something perfect about all my imperfections, even when my nose looks like a 747 from certain angles, and even when I notice the size of my thighs.

After all, Audrey Hepburn and loads of other women became famous because why? Because they were a little bit Different. If you embrace what makes you unusual or out of style, you become a trendsetter. This is why I wish more women could just love what makes them weird, think of it as a gift, not a curse! We think of beauty as something universal and unchanging, but it is just another form of fashion, and I don't care who you are, you're beautiful BECAUSE you're different, not despite that.

PS Sorry I got all Oprah.