A few weeks ago, I blogged about Meghan Trainor’s single “All About That Bass” and the great body-positive message it provided. Since then, two other incredible songs/music videos have come to my attention: “You and I” by John Legend and “Try” by Colbie Caillat.
“You and I” is more about love – John Legend wrote this piece for his wife, Crissy Teigan, to tell her how beautiful she looks – with or without makeup. The lyrics are incredibly sweet.
“You fix your makeup, just so. Guess you don’t know that you’re beautiful. Try on every dress that you own. You were fine in my eyes, a half hour ago.”
He goes on to tell her that she’s the only one for him no matter what.
“You keep wondering if you’re what I’m wanting. You don’t even have to try…Out of all the girls, you’re my one and only girl.“
The video itself shows women inspecting their appearances and the wide diversity of beauty there is in the world. Beautiful women come in all shapes, sizes, and forms – which is exactly what this video celebrates. It’s truly stunning.
I feel incredibly blessed to have a man in my life who tells me these things – that I’m beautiful exactly how I am. Whether I have a face full of makeup or none at all, he still thinks I’m beautiful and will tell me that over and over.
However, despite what he says, I don’t believe it at times. It’s hard when there’s so much pressure from our peers and the media to look perfect to believe we’re perfect exactly how we are. I’ve struggled with that my whole life but lately (with the support of people like my boyfriend) have taken steps to embrace who I really am inside. For example, I started my natural hair journey a few weeks back (read about it here). That was a huge leap for me. I’ve received such positive feedback about it and guess what? The world didn’t end. People didn’t judge me. I wasn’t shunned for being me. When we embrace our natural beauty, that’s when we can be happiest and most comfortable in our own skin.
This leads me to “Try” by Colbie Caillat. She wrote this song about how the media pressures women to be something they aren’t. Especially when it comes to Photoshop, hair extensions, fake nails, and excessive makeup – it’s all so much for us to handle. Colbie Caillat was fed up with all of it. This song is her breath of fresh air telling women that they “don’t have to change a single thing.”
“You don’t have to try so hard. You don’t have to give it all away. You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up. You don’t have to change a single thing”
The stunning video shows women with full faces of makeup taking it all off, letting their hair down, and stepping away from all of these things that enhance their appearance. It’s so incredible – this really hit me hard. I started bawling while I was watching it. By saying “You don’t have to try” is such a refreshing thing to hear. When I get ready in the morning, I am trying to please everyone – my family, friends, strangers, etc.
“Take your make up off, let your hair down, take a breath, look into the mirror, at yourself. Don’t you like you?”
This song asks “Why should you care, what they think of you? When you’re all alone by yourself, do you like you?” I cannot stress the importance of that question enough. Ask yourself that every day: Do I like me? Am I happy with the person I’ve become? Chances are, the answer you have won’t have anything to do with your appearance – it will be determined by your accomplishments, morals, behaviors, and actions.
Overall, I’m loving all of this positivity in the media lately. It encourages me to be proud of the person I am inside and not focus as much on what I look like to everybody else. It’s refreshing and uplifting!
