Embracing imperfections

”We all have our imperfections. But I’m human, and you know, it’s important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty.” – Beyoncé 

 During my teenage years where I’ve always felt a little (ok, maybe more than I care to admit) subconscious about the mole on my chin, having a classmate tell you that people would actually pay a lot for fake moles like that (it was the nineties and we’re Arabs), and that having one naturally was a blessing, was the perfect boost of self-confidence I didn’t know I needed. After that, I’ve embraced my little mole until I actually considered it to be an asset (it also helped that it was on the ‘good side’ of my face).

 I’m using the past tense as you may have noticed when addressing THE mole as I’ve had to get rid of it last week due to medical reasons. The younger me would’ve been happy, thrilled even about losing it! but my current mature self is actually somewhat saddened as it’s still a part of me that I’ve lost. I know how easy it is for someone to be so absorbed and taken by outer appearances – trust me, for someone who suffers from horrible acne and is still sensitive about discussing her terrible skin, I know all about it – , but trying to surpass that and actually focus on inner beauty as well as celebrating imperfections is extremely liberating and important for one’s mental health. 

 Instead of making this about the outfit for today’s post, I chose to address the elephant in the room and point out the reason for that huge plaster on my chin. Also, no, I’m not making mountains out of mole hills because it did feel like a big deal to me and I did undergo a surgery (with anesthesia, stitches and all), so it felt right to make my feelings known about this. 

 In no way am I trying to make my temporary experience with a visible plaster on my face similar to people with birth deficiencies, but people’s reactions to my face did feel extremely weird compared to how I was used to. The first two days felt very normal as I was still not used to having something on my face that people would be judging me by, but after a few remarks from people and colleagues I started feeling subconscious and actually trying to conceal it. I also couldn’t wait to get it off my face and be “normal” again. Life is funny, and I believe that everything happens for a reason. Case in point, my brief experience post surgery lead me to hate my acne-filled face and imperfections way less, as well as consider myself lucky to have such minor issues compared to others that may have life-long deficiencies to deal with on a daily basis.

 So instead of posting outfit photos with a cropped head, I’m posting everything as it is. I’m even considering posting a selfie on the gram with a beautiful eye look just for the hell of it, which isn’t something I usually think of on a normal day to be honest, so it is funny how things happen that change how you perceive yourself positively in ways you’d never expect.

 Unable to stop the fashion-loving woman in me, I’m also including fashion deets below as per usual.

Headscarf – Hema 

Sunnies – Zara

Top – Pimkie

Cardigan – Kiabi 

Jeans – Jennyfer 

Trainers – Adidas Stan Smith