41 Comments
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Ramya Yandava's avatar

“There’s a stark difference between being seen as beautiful and feeling it.” This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: there have often been times when I’ve looked at a picture of myself and been disappointed or underwhelmed, but then if I think back to the actual moment, I felt beautiful in that outfit or doing whatever I was doing! Social media puts so much emphasis on optics, but at the end of the day I think it’s out internal experiences that really matter!

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grace's avatar

exactly !! it’s difficult to remember inner joy and meaningful experiences trump any sort of worries ab appearance, but it’s crucial! thank u for reading<3

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Michelle💌's avatar

“When I forget the audience is there, when the stage lights of life blind me, I’m beautiful and timeless.” Oh my god? I just subscribed to your substack because how could I not after reading you? Your words are beautiful! <3

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grace's avatar

thank u so so much for being here! 🤍

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just another orange's avatar

“It’s ironic, because I usually find beauty everywhere I look…The concept of beauty is a collection of contradictions” you put it into words so well!! i can never quite pin down how i feel about the concept of beauty, this made me feel really seen <3

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grace's avatar

i am so so glad this resonated w u thank u so much for reading!!!

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Ball-Jointed Diary's avatar

This is one of my absolute favorite things I’ve read on here ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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grace's avatar

that is so kind thank u so much!

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lena's avatar

beautiful, as always, and so thought provoking. you have such a gift with words oml

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grace's avatar

so grateful for ur support always<33

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Bhavani's avatar

"I feel the most beautiful when I forget how I look. Remembering my body is like remembering I’m on a stage for an invisible audience, and I need to appear a certain way for them to applaud."

Same for me too! Thank you for putting this feeling into words. We go through life having myriad feelings. There's only so many feelings we can stop to process and write about. It's wonderful, then, we have writers everywhere on this planet to immortalise missed-out feelings as words. This above is one such feeling.

"I laugh in my best friend’s car, and I don’t care about the gap between my two front teeth or what I sound like. I lie in bed while morning sunbeams come in through the window, and I don’t care about my thighs." >> So true. Thank you :))

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grace's avatar

it makes me so happy that i could give voice to some feelings you’ve experienced 🤍 thank you so much for reading and being here

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Jean's avatar

This is an absolutely crucial thought.

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grace's avatar

thank you for saying that!

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SunnyDayz's avatar

As a woman this is extremely hard to do . To be okay with our bodies . To overthink if we are “ too big” or “ too small” and want to look like someone else .. when in reality our bodies should be something we should be thankful for everyday due to the functions they make possible and for taking us everywhere we go.

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grace's avatar

exactly!! i’m trying to be more mindful of how i think ab my body in terms of what it does for me instead of how it’s appearance is perceived by society and myself

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Kathleen's avatar

I remember watching this interview too and getting emotional watching her respond to that question. If I'm being completely honest, as I projected my own thoughts in reacting to the interviewer, I felt like perhaps she was struggling with thinking of any answer at all. I know I did. You're right, putting makeup on or wearing your fav t-shirt can feel beautiful, but what does it mean to feel beautiful anyway, it's so complex. I really loved what you shared about laughing in your best friends car, because that feeling of no judgement, freedom to be yourself and express whatever you want to express is totally a thing of beauty, so cheers to more of that

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grace's avatar

thank you so much for being here and sharing your thoughts! it means so much to me. i had such a similar experience watching the interview as well, im glad my words resonated 🤍

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Ina's avatar

“what makes you feel beautiful” - this, your writing. you have a way of invoking such poignant emotions ❤️it’s beautiful.

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grace's avatar

ur so kind thank u for being here!! 🤍

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chloe's avatar

ALLLLL OF THIS OMG.

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grace's avatar

🤍🤍

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Shelby Lynn 🌹's avatar

"I can be seen as beautiful when I do my makeup to cover my acne or when I wear flattering clothes. I can be seen as beautiful even when doubt and panic ripple through my chest like a high tide. That doesn’t mean I feel beautiful. In my experience, the two don’t often coincide." This struck me so deeply. I couldn't agree more that there's usually a very defined split of when I feel beautiful in my own embodiment versus when I feel beautiful in the performance of my outward persona. I think there's a constant tug of war in trying to exist in both places. <3

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grace's avatar

exactly!! i’m so happy this resonated with u thank u so much for being here

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Aastha's avatar

you must have read my thoughts.

who gave you access to my diary? this should be illegal

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grace's avatar

so glad it resonated with you,, thank u for reading! 🤍

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Anisa Daniel-Oniko's avatar

This is beautifully thought of and beautifully described.

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Anisa Daniel-Oniko's avatar

I wasn’t going to say this, but I feel seen.

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grace's avatar

thank u thank u thank u!!!

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anaika kakoty's avatar

I would mention specific parts of this that I loved, but there's so many to the point where it'd be easier to point out the few words that didn't make me look up from my screen to process them. I could swear some of these ideas are pulled straight from my diary.(/j)

Regardless, it's very fitting for a piece of writing discussing beauty to be this beautiful itself <3

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grace's avatar

thank u so much for reading i’m so glad this made u feel seen<3

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Athraa's avatar

I love this so much. This also inspired me to write about this too! 💗🫶🏻

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grace's avatar

so glad it gave u inspiration!! thank u so much for reading!

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