It was really just that weekend. I had a really really bad weekend and was super down… I just feel like it’s a really common problem for girls and I mean it was so on a whim for me. I was just sitting there thinking I wish I had something to look at right now. I remember talking to all my friends who would tell me “Oh I’m not pretty, boys don’t like me” and I tried to explain to them that’s not the reason why you’re pretty… that shouldn’t bring you down. So I was like, “Hey maybe I could make this help girls actually think about themselves like ‘I’m not pretty because boys don’t like me, I’m pretty because I have beautiful big brown eyes or because I play a bajillion instruments,’ or whatever it is. I just wanted to help girls find something they like about themselves, and embrace it. And most girls don’t really think about that, so this is giving them an opportunity to think about it. Just like being a part of it, if that makes sense.

How are girls responding to it?

Most people actually really really like the idea, from what I’ve heard from people and from the comments on it. I’ve gotten so many girls that I don’t even know. It’s spread all over the metro area and it’s gone to a bunch of colleges and some other schools around the US. I’ve had a ton of girls that are like, “This is really helping me, and thank you so much for making me a part of it, and I really like the idea and being able to see the pictures.” I update it once a week on Mondays, and usually I get a ton of feedback. It’s a really simple way to get girls to think about themselves in a better way and promote self-confidence.

What have been your favorite ‘I am beautiful because…’ answers?

They’re all different. I really like the one that was, “I’m beautiful because I eat like a man.” Because there are a lot of girls who are like “I eat too much that makes me so….” but no that’s awesome! A lot are dipping into their faith like, “I’m beautiful because I believe in God,” which I think is really cool. There is one that’s like, “I’m beautiful because I’m saving myself for my husband.” I really liked that one. There are a lot of girls… That’s actually like a really big problem with girls like “Oh maybe if I put out, guys will start liking me.” That one shows that even if you’re saving yourself, you’re still pretty. So I really liked that one. Then on the other side there are the confession ones that are like, “I’m beautiful because I beat anorexia.” And those are nice because if you’re struggling with that it’s just like, other people are doing it so you can do it too. Just because you have that problem doesn’t make you unbeautiful [sic]. There are ones about depression, anorexia, bulimia, and all sorts of things on there. Those are just some of them.

What are your hopes for the campaign for the future?

My hope is that it grows big enough where people will know to come back and check it every Monday, and I get tons of pictures from girls, and hopefully expand it. Right now, it’s just like expanding it to all the schools in our area and make it a big deal- something that girls really want to be a part of. My biggest goal would be to get it to all sorts of schools around the US and that girls can use and make it a well-known website I guess. That’s a long way away. Right now it’s just getting the word out and getting members on the blog.

How do girls benefit from participating?

So many girls have self-esteem problems. Whether you want to admit it or not, everyone deals with it sometime in their life. There are so many ways to deal with it but I feel like this is such an easy way to deal with it. All it takes is 10 minutes of your time. And every girl loves taking pictures of themselves. So it’s just 10 minutes of your time, you get to take a picture of yourself, and it causes you to actually think about what you like about yourself and most girls don’t take the time to do that. Usually it’s just like, “Oh this guy dumped me.. I’m obviously super ugly.” Most girls don’t think like, “Me being an awesome painter makes me beautiful.” It just gets girls to start thinking about other aspects of themselves that make them beautiful and embrace it after they’re a part of it.

What impact does a campaign like this have on society?
Hopefully it can show people that… hopefully it spreads awareness about the fact that self-esteem problems are such a big deal. It was kind of also inspired by the fact that I volunteer at KU-Med and talking to the volunteer director, they said the biggest problem they have in their therapy ward for pediatric girls was girls who were dealing with self-esteem problems. Like all their depression, suicide cases for most girls, like 95% of the time, have something to do with really low self-esteem and not thinking highly of themselves. So hopefully it spreads awareness for that and like I said to get girls to participate in it and let people know about it. And something that they can be proud to be a part of.

Why are you beautiful?

I’m beautiful because I overcame depression with a smile.