Blurred Reflections: Redefining Beauty
- Avril Rodriguez
- Sep 22
- 3 min read
On Sundays, I would arrive at my school's lake dock, grab my mainsail and jib, rig the dinghy, and wait for the wind. Lake sailing in my area wasn't like the open water, the wind was shifty and unpredictable. One Sunday, as I was sailing, I remember reaching the center of the lake, my partner and I hiking out the boat, and as we made a swift turn toward the wind, the wind died down. A few minutes later, the water became flat, the ripples vanished, and silence took over. I sat there, staring at my blurred reflection and wondered - why were we never meant to see ourselves clearly? Before the invention of the mirror, the camera, we were meant to only be seen as ripples, shifting and imperfect. Was beauty never meant to be measured by appearances alone?
More Than a Mirror
In its essence, I’ve found it a privilege to worry about imperfections. To plan your next outfit, decide how you’ll style your hair, or curate the way you present yourself—rather than worrying about where your next meal will come from or how you’ll make it to your next paycheck. How lucky are some of us, that our first concern is simply how we appear.
That doesn’t mean appearance doesn’t matter. I care about mine all the time. It’s important to present yourself well and hold yourself with confidence. Everyone sees you through their own lens, and it shouldn’t be someone else’s responsibility to witness me at my most vulnerable or careless. I choose how I want to be seen.
But what if we spent less time worrying and more time engaging? Social media and societal pressure will try to tell you beauty is about likes, followers, or fleeting validation. But chasing that only leaves emptiness. True fulfillment comes when you recognize your worth is not in appearance—but in character, in kindness, and in the joy you bring to the world. What if we poured that energy into asking strangers how their day is going, making conversation, and being open to people who live differently than us? Wouldn’t that shift our self-esteem in a more positive light?
Imagine if we spent our energy looking for opportunities in each day instead of chasing impossible standards. That’s where true beauty begins to shine—not just in how you present yourself, but in how you treat yourself. And how you treat yourself will always reflect in how you treat others.
Treat yourself with kindness and compassion, and you’ll naturally pour that into the world around you. Because beauty isn’t just about how you look—it’s about how you live.
Ways that I've gone out and lived!
A Legacy of Strength
And never forget, if you need another reminder of your beauty—you are made up of strong, beautiful women who came before you. You carry their resilience, their grace, their wisdom, and even their style. Think of the women in your family—how they fought for what they wanted, how they showed kindness in difficult times, how they carried themselves with strength and dignity. Their beauty is alive in you.
You are not just one person. You are a collection of lives, experiences, and values passed down through generations. That in itself is breathtaking.
Remember This
You are more than what you look like.
You are more than what others think of you.
You are the reflection of generations of strength, courage, and grace.
And that makes you beautiful!!!
And now I wanted to present some of the women that inspired me to make this post, because all of them are beautiful inside and out!
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