This is my beautiful Filipino friend.
Her name is Mariana.
The week I went to the Philippines I was reassured of my purpose in being there because of this girl. She struggled with beauty. Sound familiar? I feel maybe that all of my struggles had led up to this. A week that I could pour into this beautiful girl and help her realize her beauty.
In Asia, non-stop, I encountered the idea that "white is right." Asian people try to be so pale they go to the extreme of putting bleach in their every-day body lotions. It is pure irony that we always want what we cannot have... in the states there is pressure to be tan, so many tanning beds and creams. On the other side of the world there is pressure to be white, whiting creams and sun umbrellas are quite prevalent.
So for the first time in my life I stepped into a culture where my pastey pale skin was the epitome of beauty. It may be hard that some pale white girl was trying to teach so many brown girls about their beauty, but I just pray that it would not be remembered at face value. I pray that the conversations I had with Mariana would be ingrained in her forever.
Pray for this beautiful girl to know exactly how beautiful she is.
After all, the One that made her also made the wonders of this world.
