Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!  

I was obsessed with The Little Prince since I could read. 

I’ve read it now in 2 languages and both as a child and as an ‘adult’.  So many Easter eggs missed as a child.  Then  it was so deep and I romanticized Prince,his Rose and Fox.  As the  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote himself “Only the children know what they are looking for.” It got quite a different meaning reading it older ( specially the ending), but the gist remains : “But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart.”  

Just a quick POV: when I refer to people as ‘ugly’ I’m talking about the inner beauty ( or lack of). Because just like the term ‘normal’ , ‘beauty’ is an individual perception. 

Where I come from physical beauty is very important (to men,women,children,…everyone). There’s a saying in Serbo-Croatian if you’re a single lady, or  Heaven forbid a spinster, something that’s said to give you hope : ‘even the fat ones got married’! What about the pretty,skinny ones who got cheated on? Yeah, we don’t talk about (that) Bruno. 

This is one subject on which I’ve been called a hypocrite and I can live with it.  I consider all of  my loved ones beautiful. Because if they weren’t what’s to love? Good looks might get you in the door, but you’re gonna need some substance to stay. My mother called me out on it saying one of my friends is really nice,but not good looking. ( worry not she has seen the light since then). Thought I am aware of my friend’s physical appearance that’s truly the least important thing,or dare I say not at all. When I love a friend it’s because they have a beautiful and kind soul, sense of humor, they are the extrovert to my introvert and we owe each other nothing. 

Here goes a life lesson: your perception of yourself is often NOT even close to how other people perceive you! I have been aware of it for long time now, but still haven’t fully mastered it myself. 

If you wanna find more good life lessons play: ‘Everybody’s Free To Wear a Sunscreen’ by Baz Luhrmann to remind yourself (or if you’re much younger than me: to hear it for the first time). In extra short version: floss, stretch, travel, you are not as fat as you imagine! Do one thing every day that scares you, live in New York City once and dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room!  

As I’m writing this I just remembered a story from elementary school (  for better understanding in ex Yugoslavia there’s elementary school and then high school,nothing in between ). I’m gonna age myself here,but it proves the point that  kids say the darndest things. We’re in the classroom in elementary school sitting at our desks. One boy had a plain blue notebook with a photo of Mel Gibson at his peak and piercing blue eyes. Somebody called somebody else ugly and D didn’t even blink just uttered ‘And who do you think you are? Mel Gibson?’ End of conversation ! I do realize people under 30 reading this might be confused as in why Mel Gibson not Brad Pitt or even Harry Styles. Well the answer to that is quite simple: Brad just made ‘Legends of the fall’ that made him a new blue eye sensation and Harry was  likely not even born at time this happened. To this day I still say that whenever someone thinks of themselves as an authority for what’s considered beautiful.

Then there’s the fashion  that has been my obsession for as long as I can remember. Started with dolls, Barbie and copying anyone I saw on TV or magazines.  I don’t consider myself everyone’s cup of tea in any sense and it certainly applies to my fashion expression. To say my fashion sense has been eclectic is an understatement.  The tennis great Arthur Ashe said it well: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Though it’s doubtful he was talking about fashion, I believe it applies to it perfectly.  To this day some of my favorite looks have been inspired by a celebrity or a fictional character ( those who know me know Carrie Bradshaw, Jennifer Aniston, and Gwen Stefani are on top of the list). 

Then there’s home: NYC. I might not have been made in NYC but I was definitely made for it. People often criticize one thing or another, but to me…it’s beautiful. Most beautiful things and places are not perfect. In this case, I believe the imperfections are the exact thing that makes it so beautiful to me.  

And then there are the misfits. All beautiful in their own unique and often misunderstood way. So if you haven’t heard it yet today here it goes: if you poses and practice kindness you are beautiful!

*** ‘A Beautiful Friend’ by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass and ‘Bella’ by Jovanotti