Writer’s note: Girls, if a guy thinks that being beautiful is just being beautiful physically, I think he can never be the one. Guys, if you cannot accept a woman’s physical imperfections of pimples and excess fat, you are the ugly one.  

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My face is full of pimples and acne marks but I have embraced this imperfection since I was in fifth grade.

I stopped explaining to people why pimples and acne marks just don’t leave my face – that it is in our blood; it is hereditary; no pimple treatment product or dermatology clinic visits have cured it through many attempts—because why should I waste my time?

“Akala mo maganda ka?” (Do you think you’re beautiful?) No one has ever dared to ask me this question before for the past 21 years and it was, for all the reasons in the world, an insult that I have been asking myself since the first time I heard it from a guy.

It did not stop then. He keeps on asking me that.

One person, no one ever did, only one.

Do you think you’re beautiful?

What if I do?I feel beautiful when I work hard everyday knowing that after days of going the extra mile, I’ll be able to spare some of my salary to my family back home and save for the future at the same time.

I feel beautiful when my father posts memes and graphics on Facebook about daughters and that keeps me motivated in life. He is not the showy type but I know he is proud of how I continually reach my dreams. Why should I not feel beautiful about that?

I feel beautiful when I finish three academic papers requiring 1,800 words each- in a week, in the middle of my 8am-5pm everyday work. I have been working hard since I had a job 15 days after I graduated in college, is it not enough to feel beautiful?

I feel beautiful when strangers send me private messages on Facebook telling me that I encourage them to never give up on life through the articles that I am writing.

I feel beautiful when I receive emails and private messages telling me that they are envious of what I have been accomplishing and how well I manage my life despite of continually pushing myself to my limits.

I feel beautiful when my guy best friends text me in the middle of the night or anytime of the day telling me they miss me and they can’t wait to see me coming home. This is because they want to talk to me about everything; because they miss me arguing with them about how to properly treat their girls, or what is the best food on earth, or what part of Ilocos should we be going next for a road trip.

I feel beautiful when my girl best friends call me just to burst their frustrations out. Not because I am their crying shoulder but because I know that they remember me during their downcast times which is just a constant reminder that they trust me and they know I will never leave their side no matter what.

More importantly, I feel beautiful when I wake up in the morning thanking God for giving me another day to live.

I don’t need someone telling me that I am beautiful because I am enough to remind myself of that. I am tired of people telling me I am beautiful [physically] because it is the most awkward thing for me to hear. Lest, I’d rather be called intelligent, witty, or wise because I don’t even know the context of what being physically beautiful is.

Do I think I am beautiful?

Yes, I feel beautiful with all my pimples and acne marks and that didn’t make me feel less of a human.