Kendall Forbes

Looking at her reflection, all Samantha could see were her flaws.
Her attention was immediately drawn to the lines and shadows beneath her eyes, but they soon followed to the creases around her mouth and across her brow.
Any bump or discolouration stood out next. The shape of her jaw line, the lack of chin, the size of her ears… Samantha could glance at herself for just a moment and see all of these imperfections at once, or stare for an hour and drown in a sense of worthlessness.
But not today.
It took a few minutes, but Samantha began to tick off the things about herself that she actually kind of liked.
Her lips: she loved the shape and natural colour. She hardly ever wore lipstick, but when she did, it was always in bright and bold colours that drew the attention towards her pout.
Next were her eyebrows: shaped yesterday at the salon, they arched and curved in perfect symmetry. Gorgeous.
Trying to look past the darkness below, Samantha instead focused on her eyes: honey-brown with flecks of gold, they seemed to brighten with every compliment she paid herself.
Her cheekbones weren’t bad either, she decided. And with this she began to smile. With the lift of the corner of her lips came a radiance of confidence. Even as the lines around her mouth wrinkled, Samantha hardly registered them as a flaw.
Not today, anyway.
Today, she was choosing to be beautiful. Today Samantha was choosing to be happy.