Take It Off

I used to be somewhat annoyed with those pictures of celebrities who take "no-makeup" pictures and post them.  Actually, it wasn't the picture I was annoyed with as much as the media acclaiming them for their bravery as if they had just run through a minefield, wearing clown-shoes, carrying their first born child with a blindfold on.

I mean...come on.  Seriously.  It's not that difficult to post a beautiful picture of yourself...right Selena Gomez?  Right, Tyra Banks?

Well, a couple Sundays ago, I realized what a hypocrite I am.

I was sitting in a meeting planning a women's retreat. As we were brainstorming ideas on how to create an environment that encouraged honesty and openness, one woman piped up with, "Why don't we say, 'No Makeup Allowed'?" 

There were some giggles, a couple, "Whoa"'s...and one gasp.
...pretty sure I choked on my mint with such a sudden intake of air.

I think my first thought was, "Who IS this woman? IS SHE NUTS?!?!" My second thought being, "Woman, you need to just hush yo' self up and sit your little be-hind on down".

Now, I don't always wear makeup so it's not that I refuse to go without it. However, I realized when that idea was suggested, that something in me reacted...strongly.  I did not want to meet a bunch of women for the first time without makeup on. They're just going to think I'm really really ugly...and plain.  Plain and ugly...yep. That's what they're going to think.

And then I caught myself.

Was I really having these thoughts?  Why does that idea sound scary? I'm just being really honest with all of you right now...and yes, I know, I sounded really stupid...but that's my point.  It was stupid.

Why did it sound scary? ..it shouldn't be. Maybe that lady's idea wasn't such a bad one afterall.

This summer has been a process of peeling away layers...being honest and vulnerable.

It's not the makeup...let's be honest.  It's the concept of, will others like me less if they see my flaws? What if...just what if I showed weaknesses and someone did cringe, or what if they left me, or defined my worth based on my moments of vulnerability?

Because the truth is, that will happen, right?  That's the scary part, because rejection is a very real possibility.   

I know I've been...But you know what? I recovered...surprisingly quick (well, for me anyway). I learned that even though they used my vulnerability against me...it could only belittle and define my worth to the extent that I let it.  It was okay to be hurt by their comments...but it was my responsibility to separate my willingness to be vulnerable with their inability to respect it. 

But don't let me fool you...I'm not tough.  No...not at all.  I may have learned the concept, but living it out again is so very difficult.  It's not the first time that's hard...it's the second.  At least for me.  Yeah...that, feels really hard.  

Well, turns out, I think the women are going to be allowed to wear make-up to the retreat...but it made me think, I kind of want to take a no-makeup picture simply as a reminder that it really is silly to think it matters...and well, here's me eating my words toward Selena and Tyra. :)

I asked a couple friends of mine to see if they wanted to start a series with me called "Take It Off" as a fun way to be just a little more honest....So this is me asking you too. Just give me one no-make up picture (or if you're a guy, just a picture!) and one honest truth about yourself...it can be a post, or just a sentence...whatever you want. :)


And as always, thanks again to you, readers of my silly nothings...for always being so kind to me.  You really are all such dears and make me feel very safe to "take it off" on here.

Much love to you.

If you want to join in on the 

"Take It Off" series, you can:

BLOG or E-mail... send your link to me: tami@tamipaigephotography.com 

Instagram it (because you know of my love affair with Instagram)...hashtag it #takeitoff You can also tag me with @tami_paige so I can see it, and we'll share some of your posts on here!!