"Glowing Up" Has Nothing To Do With Beauty

While Rihanna’s latest makeup line Fenty Beauty, made us all trophy wives and had us glowing to perfection this season, the real “Glow Up” has nothing to do with beauty at all. Although society has created this inaccurate idea by mainly promoting just the physical of our progression, the real “Glow Up” is much more complex. While we are constantly reminded of our physical growth in old photos or unsolicited Facebook reminders, our physical appearance isn’t the only thing that experiences growth. The caterpillar to butterfly process we all undergo in our everyday lives go far beyond our aesthetics but instead, go deeper into who we are internally. That internal progression is what we call, the “Glow Up”. The “Glow Up” is about maturing into an adult, making the right decisions and becoming the best versions of ourselves.

Think back to a younger you; the young, dreamer just starting out in life. If you’re anything like me, you’ve had big dreams from the very beginning, and I’m sure you’ve also had a vision for what you’d like your life to become. Whether that be where you’d go to school, what career you’d be working, or what your relationships would look like, I’m sure you’ve had an idea and desire for the direction of your life. While in those younger years these were only ideas with no concrete direction, the process of glowing up is stepping into that direction and making those ideas now a reality.

Thinking back to my personal life, as a teenager I always knew I wanted much success in the years to come. With my ambitious nature, I worked as hard as I possibly could in school because I knew I was setting myself up for a greater future. Aside from academically, I would also set goals for every aspect of my life, so I clearly understood what I expected for myself. From intimate relationships, childhood friendships or career goals, I had a plan. But of course, since I was still young and still learning, many things didn’t go as planned and my glowing up process wouldn’t happen for years later. Those younger years for me were full of many mistakes, confusion and non meaningful relationships, but thank God for growth, and thank God for Glow.

If it’s one thing I’ve noticed throughout the years it’s everyone always witnesses the glitz and glamour of the glow. They see the success story but they don’t always see the hard work that goes into it. Glowing up is not an easy process, but more importantly it is a process you must be prepared to go through. It’s a process that is suppose to change your entire life and understandably not a moment everyone is ready for. Glowing up shatters some friendships, distances familiar things and pushes you to your full potential; and that can be a very scary situation.

As I accepted the growth and direction of my life, many things I was once familiar with had to change. I had to put aside past ways, and with those ways I had to let go of some people. I didn’t let go of them because I cared for them any less, but I knew that sometimes past ways and some people didn’t coincide with the direction my life was going in, and I had a choice to make.

I either chose to glow or they had to go.

As painful as it was I understood that I had to close certain doors and let go of certain people in order to walk into my destiny, so I did.

I would later appreciate all those painful decisions and clearly see how necessary they all were. Letting go made me a better woman, and put me in a position to create healthier meaningful relationships. I no longer sought out things or people that didn’t serve a purpose and my decision making only focused on growth.

The most important part of glowing up to me, is growth. While the growth of your physical appearance is a great bonus, your mentality shifts tremendously and your views on life change with it. You notice the people you choose to engage with are not the same as before and your interests have developed to higher standards. As you glow up, you become that person you once aspired to be and it’s a beautiful feeling.

Glowing up is a constant rebirth and coming of age journey with yourself. You get to reflect on your former life and you get to witness just how much you’ve grown as a person. It’s a time to walk into your destiny and be proud of all your hard work and sacrifices you’ve made throughout the years. There is no end point in glowing up, it’s an ongoing process that you should proudly walk in. As for me, the glow has just begun and shall continue in the years to come. There’s always more goals to set, more room for growth, and like our girl Rihanna’s trophy wife highlighter, you can never have too much glow.