This week, Mike Foster challenged us to reveal the “real me”.
I think I’ve been pretty real here on my blog when it comes to most of the things in my life. I’ve revealed most everything from a silly random 25 things list to my largest life failure.
On the People of the Second Chance (POTSC) site, Mike challenges us to participate in THIS experiment:
So this week I thought we could do an experiment. Let’s replace all our “nice-professional-photoshop-hair-looking-fab-pics-we-really-like-of-ourselves” with “REAL” photos of us. Change your Twitter. Facebook. Blog. Remove the sexy and put the #REALME up.
Low res camera pics. Christmas morning rats nest hair photos. Bad lighting and goofy looks. Close ups and flabby neck photos. No photoshopin’ here! No shame here! No image or brand management! Just a snapshot of reality.
And here is the point of the experiment!!! Your value is in you. Not your sexiness. You are beautiful even when you think you are ugly, geeky, or when a photo is unflattering. We love and prefer the REAL YOU!
I was going to post a photo of me RIGHT when I woke up, or some crazy photo like Tam, however, when I read Anne and Crystal’s blogs today, I thought I would just follow suit in video form… so here we go.
Some of you may have a hard time revealing yourself from behind your mask. You mask might not be make-up. If you’re anything like me, your mask could be walls of lies you have built around yourself. Friend… it’s time to be free.
“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” ~ Psalm 139:14
ALL of you are wonderful and beautiful. Not just your outside… but inside too… when you allow yourself to BE the way you were created. God knit you together with PURPOSE. That “imperfection” you cringe to look at every day is God’s perfection of purpose in you.
My beauty is in my tragedy. I can HONESTLY tell you I thank God (almost) everyday for letting me hit rock bottom. I thank God for letting me feel pain. I thank God for allowing me to EXPERIENCE everything I have in life… even letting me fail. You see, if I didn’t ever hit rock bottom and walk the desert, I’m not sure I’d quite appreciate how beautiful and lush life is now.
So… you’re turn.
What is ONE thing you LOVE about yourself?
yep, you’re still super hot. i love you!!!
i love my laugh. it is loud and obnoxious—but it is me.
i love your laugh too. i don’t think it’s loud OR obnoxious… just super cute. but i guess when you compare anything to my honkin’ laugh… well…
may be crazy. which is why its the real me.
kota said after he watched this video…she looks the same.
translation=youre still beautiful!
girl… i LOVE the real you… crazy and ALL! that’s the best part of you.
and i love that kota too…
I love that! I love that I have green eyes. My grandma always said that I saw the world differently with them
You almost ripped your face off girl!
i try.
This was a beautiful post. Your words in the last paragraph brought tears to my eyes as I am working not to let the failures of my past determine my future. thank you for this simple reminder.
Like Crystal, I love my laugh – its loud and everyone who knows me, knows its me laughing when they hear it. Yesterday a member of our church told me she was having a bad day and put on the message from this past Sunday. She said she heard my laugh on the CD and it simply made her day. Its a simple thing, but my loud, over the top laugh helped turn someone’s day around and that I think is something worth celebrating about me.
Thanks again for the beautiful post.
i have to remind myself of this on certain days too, makeda?
love you girl! i look forward to actually hearing your laugh in real life one day.
Thanks Jenni. Hopefully one day we can share a laugh together. You crack me up so I’m sure within minutes of meeting you will have me in stitches. Thanks again. Love ya back!!
You look better sans makeup. So far, everyone I’ve seen do this looks better without makeup. Maybe I just dislike masks that much.
that’s awesome, jason!
i don’t usually wear that much make-up anyway. i’m all about “enhancing” but i don’t like covering stuff up. this includes my zits. i usually just let them shine bright red as they are
Kota IS right. You do look the same, you ARE still BE-YOO-TEE-FULL!
Your words are life-giving. Thank you.
I’m another laugher. Our favorite local restaurant — they know when I’m there. A man I know once told me when we met up in our Super Wal-Mart that he’d known I was there because he heard me laugh. It goes with the smile — people tell me that just that smile can make their day seem better. (All that goes with the wicked wit and sarcastic sense of humor, too.)
I am so glad that I am not a girl. All that work…just makes me tired watching this video.
Glad to know that people are about getting away from their mask and being real and honest with God.
i guess this IS why you’re not a girl, kyle… most girls/women actually like the process. they like make-up and perfume. they like looking nice for their men. that’s why girls start “dressing up” at the young age of 3 for their daddy’s.
it’s how God made us.
unfortunately, with all good things, many of us women have made it into something quite ugly. we’ve twisted this desire to be captivating and revealing WHO God created us to be into more of a complete masking and covering up of the things we have deemed as unworthy. our faces are the easiest thing to cover up.
it’s not easy being a girl… but this is why i think THIS experiment is so fantastic!
Yes, after reading that I realize that God knew exactly what He was doing by making me a male…good thing because I would not go through all of that
hahaha! just equate it to your taking a shower regularly and applying deodorant. it’s kinda the same.
So great! loved using the video. Why didn’t I think of that!
You’re a beauty for sure!
thanks, love.
just so you know. we’re best friends now… even though you don’t know it.
You look the same. AhHAaH!
the only people who have said that are those who have actually seen me without makeup… since i don’t really wear that much of it anyway. ahahaha!
Jenni:
I’m late for the “real me” party – but I’ve been catching up today.
This vid was particularly powerful. I’m not sure if it was the song, or the look on your face – the sort of half smile – before you took off your makeup and then after.
I loved it.
and i love you.
three words:
you
me
candy
Love the video…and the song with it!! Thanks for making the point very clear!! I’m not sure that I love it…but everyone seems to love my laugh…it includes snorting and has a tendency to make everyone else laugh!!
snorting laughs are AWESOME!!!
jenni you are amazing! awesome!
thanks, mike… but this was ALL your idea, friend!
You look better with make-up. But you don’t look that different without it.
Oh, and I love that I am adventurous!
i love that you’re adventurous… and i love that you think i look the same without make up.
I so wish I could say I was strong enough to do this, but in truth I didn’t even entertain the idea. I don’t think I would have gone without makeup when I was my “normal” self, but even with makeup I’m so uncomfortable with my larger/steroid self… it’s just too hard.
I know it sounds like a disconnect to say that I feel good about who I am on the inside when I am so bothered by the outside. But I think it’s because the outside is due to meds and disease… and it makes it not feel like me.
you are stronger than i could ever be, gitz! you are AMAZING!!!