What does being "Pretty" mean?

What does being "Pretty" mean?

By: Mama Liz

There once was a little girl born to a farmer couple.  She was the middle child with boys on both sides.  She was the apple of her Daddy's eye from the standpoint, that he was very protective.

The entire time growing up, the little girl always felt that she was overweight.  No one ever told her that she was pretty.

When it came time for school, there was no money to buy "store-bought" dresses. At this time, feed sacks (sacks that contained feed for the hogs, chickens, etc ) were not paper but made from a cloth material usually printed cotton.  Her Mother made all the school clothes from these feed sacks.

Other children in the school did not wear "feed sack" dresses, so this little girl and teenage girl felt "out of place" and felt "ugly".  Not wanting to upset her Mother, she never said anything but kept this to herself.

In high school, the teenager felt "out of place" because her very strict Daddy would not allow her to participate in after-school activities except the band.  Of course, band trips were not allowed.  She felt left out of the social world --again, this teenager felt "overweight" --  she had never been told she was pretty.

Time for college, there was no money, but this young lady made it happen.  She worked 2 jobs plus got student loans.  During college, she did not have dates when all the other girls were going out.  She felt that she was "fat" --- no one had ever told her that she was pretty.

She graduated from college with a degree in teaching. She got a job teaching high school. She had to live at home because she had no money to rent a place. 

While teaching, she met her future husband.  They married after only knowing each other for 8 months -- no, she was not pregnant. 

Her husband quite often told her that she had "good-looking legs"  and that he loved her, but he never told her she was pretty.

Now at the age of 83 when she sees herself in the mirror, she feels "pretty" for the first time and has had folks tell her that she is pretty.

When she looks back at photos from her youth, she realized that she was never overweight -- she was always pretty.

What is it about people?  Is it the lack of confidence?  I think so.  If you see a young person you feel needs to be told "You are pretty" or "You are a handsome young man ", please be the one who tells them so.  "Pretty is as pretty does" -- I have no idea where this came from, but I like it.

Who is the little girl in this story?  It is me, but she may be you, your daughter, your granddaughter or a neighbor, or just someone whose life you happened into.

We are all pretty, inside and out.