Selfie

I posted this on my family website tonight, but I wanted to post it here as well because of the personal and spiritual significance that it holds for me:

I didn't even know that "selfies" had a name until about a month ago. If you don't know, it's when you take a picture of yourself. I wasn't a big fan of those, mostly because the people I saw doing them took them because they were so full of themselves, and used the selfies to brag or beg for compliments. But I saw this video tonight, and I really liked the points that were made. I wanted to share, especially with the women in our family. I know what it's like to have personal insecurities, most particularly where it comes to my beauty (both inside and out). I think the women in our family are beautiful, and I wanted to share something to help in case any of you may struggle at times as I do. Because I realized as I watched this video, that over the last few years, I have taken more pictures of myself. Of course, it's with my actual camera since I have a dumb phone. And for 3 years the only way I would let myself in front of a camera without a human was to have a stuffed turtle present. But in the last couple of years, I have been able to take more of just me, sans Bob. As a single person, I don't feel my life shouldn't be documented of all the fun, wonderful experiences I get to have just because 1/2 the time it's just me experiencing them. I still have self-conscious, worried-I'm-getting-full-of-myself moments when I'm not comfortable having a picture of me taken (alone or with others). But there are now times that I don't mind it. And I have slowly been able to look at the pictures and I see one of the things I learned early on in the temple that I've spent years trying to bring outside of it: seeing myself as God sees me. And I really am a beautiful Daughter of God. Each one of us is a Child of God. Always remember that He doesn't just think you're beautiful. He knows you are. So it can't hurt for us to do a little more to help us know that for ourselves.