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Beauty in the Struggle

~ psbrittanykayla ~ 2 Comments

I’ve dealt with insecurities my entire teen and adult life. I’d always find myself on some sort of diet and wearing some sort of makeup, needing some sort of confirmation. These insecurities were so intense that they affected almost every single area of my life. Life is exhausting when everyday you wonder if you are good enough. It wasn’t until recently, when I decided to find the root of these issues that my perspective of myself changed.

I went back to my childhood. I pulled out an old diary that I kept from elementary school through high school. I realized that my insecurities began as young as 3rd grade. Bullying started in elementary school. Not feeling good enough started in elementary school. Almost every entry was about wanting to start diets, wearing makeup, finding a boyfriend, or how I could become prettier.

As I read through the diary, I began to cry. I couldn’t believe that little Brittany was worried about these things when I should have been worried about things like making the soccer team. I felt as though I was robbed of my childhood. But I refused to let that little Brittany stay alive in me today. I made it my mission to find confidence within myself.

I asked God why He let me feel a self-hate so deep at such a young age. Almost instantly the answer came to my mind. “You are going to help other young girls that are dealing with the same things you had to.” I didn’t know that in a few months that promise would come to pass.

I was already working with kids but a position opened up at a new school and I took it. This is where I realized that I had to go through the things that I went through to truly empathize with the students, particularly the girls. These girls were dealing with bullying, insecurities, suicidal thoughts, depression and some were crying for attention from boys. I made it my duty to sit down with these girls in a therapy-like session to make sure they knew they were beautiful and that they always had someone to talk to. In one exercise, I had the girls write 10 things they loved about themselves and 10 things they didn’t. Most of the girls wrote with ease the things they hated. One girl wrote 12 things in particular, but she couldn’t find one thing she loved.

I almost cried when one of the girls, who reminded me of myself, explained her issues to me and said that she wishes she could be more beautiful like “Ms. Brittany.” I explained to her that she is beautiful and that when I was her age, I went through the exact same things she was. Then I explained to her my own story and she began to cry. Knowing that I am making that kind of impact in my student’s lives is the ultimate reward for me.

I say all of this to explain that we all go through hard times in life. Whether you have childhood trauma, mental health issues, financial issues, relationship issues, or you’re mourning a loss; something beautiful is in the making.

So hold on tight and keep your faith strong. There’s always a rainbow after the storm.

xo, Brittany Kayla

Don’t let the gram fool you

~ psbrittanykayla ~ Leave a comment

Prior to attending Rutgers University, I added a few people as Instagram friends that already attended the school. I remember thinking that one of the girls in particular that I followed was so perfect. She seemed to have an amazing life and all I wanted was for mine to be like hers.

She had a beautiful face, her makeup was always on point, she had a nice body, gorgeous hair, constantly went on adventures, maintained straight A’s, had the perfect friends, and a handsome boyfriend of several years. And I mean, this relationship was what most people would call “goals,” based off of her Instagram. It seemed as though everything I was striving to personally attain, she already had… with ease, might I add.

I didn’t begin to realize that not everything is what it seems to be on Instagram until I actually got to Rutgers and met the same people in her posts.

This gorgeous girl in the pictures was still gorgeous, of course, but she wasn’t always glammed up like in her photos. In fact, the majority of when I saw her, she was in sweats while wearing no makeup. Her amazing boyfriend turned out to actually be a chronic cheater, who tried getting with a couple of my own friends. And unfortunately her perfect friends weren’t so perfect after all.

This perfect image of the girl that I had from Instagram was now shattered.

But we all do this. We all display the best qualities and aspects of our lives on social media. I mean, you’re most likely not going to post the picture of you with a double chin from when you accidentally opened up your front camera. You’re probably going to post pictures of yourself posing from your best angles, wearing your best outfits. Or you’d make sure to post a picture on a day your eyes are wide awake as opposed to tired and puffy from not getting enough sleep.

You’re probably going to post your extravagant vacations, but not the job you hate going to that allowed you to afford them. You’re going to share your accomplishments, like your good grades and the new car you just bought. But you’ll most likely leave out the struggle that it took to get there. The blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices you had to make probably won’t be showcased on the Gram. You’re going to leave out the mistakes you’ve made along the road and your regrets in life.

Why? Because Instagram was created to show the best parts of our lives. We usually leave out the bad. But that doesn’t mean that the bad doesn’t exist.

So the next time you stumble across someone’s “perfect” Instagram page, think about how human they actually are. And that no one on this earth is as perfect as they seem to be on social media.

I can assure you; we are all struggling somehow, someway. Don’t let anyone fool you.

Perfection only exists on the Gram.

xo, Brittany Kayla