As women, we dread the superficial expectations society places on us. You look at magazines, movies, TV shows, and they are all telling us we should dress a certain way, do our makeup like this, be thin, and never age. It's depressing if you analyze it because we don't think twice about it.
Dr. Kelly Flannagan, took a walk down the beauty aisle at a Target, and empathized with women. This inspired him to write an __inspiringopen letter to his 4-year-old daughte__r.
Read more ¿Qué más?: MUST READ: BEST letter in the world written by BEST abuelo in the world
He explains that words are powerful and references common words we see everyday on our beauty products such as "age defying," "flawless finish," "instant age rewind," and so forth. He says he's witnessed his daughter be a strong person, but fears the outside world is going to judge her for her looks and possibly even put her down.
However, he wrote a letter hoping to change her perspective. Below is an excerpt:
A father's words aren't different words, but they are words with a radically different meaning:
Brilliant strength. May your strength be not in your fingernails but in your heart. May you discern in your center who you are, and then may you fearfully but tenaciously live it out in the world.
Choose your dream. But not from a department store shelf. Find the still-quiet place within you. A real dream has been planted there. Discover what you want to do in the world. And when you have chosen, may you faithfully pursue it, with integrity and with hope.
Naked. The world wants you to take your clothes off. Please keep them on. But take your gloves off. Pull no punches. Say what is in your heart. Be vulnerable. Embrace risk. Love a world that barely knows what it means to love itself. Do so nakedly. Openly. With abandon.
You need to read the full open letter, it's amazing. This is something I feel that we all as women need to read and should share with all our friends and family. We hope that you can pass on this letter to your daughters, because they deserve to hear how great they are. Beauty is subjective, but a good soul as Dr. Flannagan says, is ageless.
Image via Thinkstock
