Are you one of those people who hate to have their picture taken?  Do you feel as though the camera never captures the appearance that you would like to present to the world?    I’d sit awkwardly posed and uncomfortable, lifting my chin and forcing a smile…only to see the disappointing results weeks later.  It doesn’t help that we are pummeled with images of artificial beauty-tanning bed darkened skin, airburshed thighs, and smiles of artificially white teeth.  Our culture surrounds us with these images in the hopes of winning our money and time and loyalty.  The allure of perfection is inescapable.  The comparison game begins.

But…I find that I win the game a lot quicker if I focus on sameness rather than differences.  Instead of looking at the ways I am different from these glorified images of beauty, I look at the ways I am the same as the people I love.  I may not have the cheek bones of a model, but I have the same soft cheeks and jaw as my mom.  My smile is a gift from my grandmother.  And my sun loving skin comes straight from my father.  So when I look in a mirror, or see a photograph of myself, I see an artful combination of all of these qualities.  These are gifts from my family, every bit as much as the gifts of time and love and wisdom that got me through childhood and beyond.  They have combined to make me uniquely me.

Take some time to write about your uniqueness.