Beautiful Wednesdays -- You Are Beautiful

The class had been having one of those days -- you know, when kids fight, and call each other insulting names, and everyone just gets mad at each other. Feelings were hurt, the drama was high, and I was frustrated with them (very!). We had had a discussion about classification, and how people can get classified according to characteristics. Body size came up, and it got ugly. (pun intended!)

Sensing the growing animosity in the room,  I decided to get real.

"I'm fat," I said. Their faces looked up at me in shock. Silence. One boy, bless his heart, said, "no, you're not." "Well," I said, "according to the charts, I have more fat than the norm. I have extra fat. It's part of my body."

"And that's okay. None of us are perfect. Take what you have, and look your best with what you have. None of us have perfect bodies, not even models."

"I've been slim, and I've been bigger, but it didn't make my life perfect, just because I was thinner. I was still the same person I am now. Just look your best, and feel good about how you are made. You are beautiful."

And then I showed them this video:

The video said it all. And they heard it. Smart kids.


Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.

Writing What You Need

Hello!  It's been a while since I have posted, but wanted to share some thoughts about writing. As writers, we all have different reasons for doing what we do: we write for money, we write for clients, and if we're blessed, we write for pleasure. 

As students, we learn the different possible purposes of writing: writing for information, writing for expression, and writing for persuasion. And these are all true. 

But there is one more reason for writing, that we seem to have failed to mention: writing to learn, and writing for what you need. This is the most awesome kind of writing! This is realizing what you need, and then writing it, so it's there for others. 

Harriet, Viscountess Duncannon
 and her Two Sons,
Frederick and John,

Source: Wikipedia

One article I wrote like this was for Mother's Day. Three years ago, I was really struggling with dealing with my Mom's passing, and looked for ideas on what to do, as a woman who has lost her mother, on Mother's day. I found very little to help me. 

So, I started  it for myself, encouraging myself, with  ideas of how to handle Mother's Day without your mother. 

This article has helped many people, and I think it was because I wrote it to help myself, first, and then others. Another thing I wrote to help myself heal was called "What Not To Do When Being Bullied At Work." 

By writing this article, I analyzed what had gone wrong in a bullying situation I had at work. Writing the article helped me see clearly what I done wrong, and to move on to better things. 

The thing about "writing what you need," is that doing so tends to resonate with people on a deep level. Both of these articles have had a tremendous response, and have helped many people. Why? They were written from the heart, and written from need. And this is a different, more urgent kind of writing. 

What about you? Have you written "what you need," and have had it help others? Or have you read something written from the heart, and been deeply touched by it? Share with me! 

Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.