Where I have been and where I am going

As I am scrolling through my facebook newsfeed tonight this pops up from my friend's pinterest pin. It caught my attention because far too often I get consumed with where my life should be, what I should be doing, or what is wrong in my life instead of looking at the positives. I am posting this as a reminder to myself. Three years ago I had no idea I would be sitting here writing a blog about melanoma, being cancer free for three years, the wonderful opportunities that I had been given because of melanoma, the sadness that I have felt from melanoma and cancer in general, and how happy I should be with my life. Recently I have been really struggling with being happy with my life now and I am not a hundred percent sure why. Maybe because lots of changes are coming in my future and I fear them. In nine short months I will have to completely grow up and enter the real world, ready to educate other people's children. This is once again a reminder to have faith in God's plan. He has put me on every path I have been meant to travel and will continue to do so.

Some Guys Like Pale Girls Too

She sings a song about guys liking pale girls too :)

Gorgeous Ladies of Pretty Little Liars

In spring I got hooked on the drama, suspense filled show Pretty Little Liars. Every time I watch the show I become more and more in love. One reason I love the show is because the ladies embrace their natural, beautiful skin tones and wear fashion forward clothes :)

Beautiful Pale Ladies

As I was reading my latest Cosmo magazine last night I paid special attention to the ads. I was pleasantly suprised many of the ads had models proudly wearing their natural skin tones. This is an awesome change from other magazines I have read in the past, especially ones who print articles about sun safety but across from the article is a sun kissed model. Here are a few pictures of the ads I came across:

Here are two that I wasn't so pleased to see:

Overall I think there were more ads embracing natural skin tones than tan ones :) Thanks Cosmo!

Love the Skin Your In!

 

When I was browsing through my Facebook newsfeed this morning I came across this picture and caption and knew I had to share on the blog.

When I asked the brilliant Jennifer Pastiloff Yoga, writer and yoga retreat leader, about loving the skin you're in, she had this to say: "I look at my pale skin with pride now, where once upon a time I slathered baby oil on and fried. To love the skin you live in is the greatest honor you can give it. Whether you are brown, purple, pale or pink, tell your skin that you love it. More importantly, treat it that way." *Taken from Respect the Rays Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Respect-the-Rays/243223335784833

Coolibar Blog Post

Back in May I was given the wonderful opportunity to write a blog post for the sun protection clothing company Coolibar. During May, which is melanoma awareness month Coolibar chooses melanoma survivors to share their story. Once again I gladly shared my story in hopes someone, young or old, would read it and get their skin checked. Here is the link to the blog: http://blog.coolibar.com/melanoma-survivor-sam/

Paleness does not equal beauty?!

Last night as I went to bed I was reflecting on my day at work at "Hooters on the Lake" as my family calls it (it is not really a Hooters or anything of the sort, just a beertending job). An older man told me, "you have such beautiful skin". I thanked him and went on with my job. A while later a different gentleman commented about how pale my legs were, mind you I was wearing jeans rolled up to capri length so he could not see much, and if I did wear shorts my legs have probably not seen the sun light. As I thought about these comments I am once again reminded that society does not equal beauty with paleness. One minute I am being told I have great skin (because I avoid the sun like the plaque :) ) but yet I have comments made about how pale I am. This is not the first time comments about my paleness have been made to me. I am more often questioned about my paleness or lack of a tan than told I have great skin. Society is so fixated on being tan that the reality of the dangers of the sun and tanning beds is ignored. My questions to you are how can we change society's view of what beauty is, how do you handle situations like this, or is the problem that we are not accpeting of our natural beauty?