Who's the Girl Behind the Filter?

Beauty in the digital age isn't just about skincare, hair and makeup. The way we look on social media has become a huge part of defining who we are and how we are treated and viewed. 

I'm a cereal filter abuser. I can confidently say there is not a single photo of me on Instagram that hasn't been filtered, edited and vetted with intense zooming in and checks from my friends before posting. And for what? My 500 odd followers (mostly consisting of people who know exactly what I look like without Instagram's Fox Eye filter) literally couldn't care less. Why the hell do I?! 

After taking a selfie and putting myself through the usual contortion of changing how it looks I posted on my Instagram a few weeks ago. After looking back at the photo with fresh eyes I just had to delete it. Who the HELL was that girl? It sure as hell wasn't the girl who sat there posting it. 

That was when I knew I needed to say so long to the filters. 

This was the picture I posted. It had been flipped, three filters added and my makeup was digitally enhanced. I flipped my hair around and posed in a totally unnatural way hiding my teeth and forcing a jawline. 

And you know what... after all that I still wasn't happy with the picture. And when I looked in the mirror I was even more unhappy. Right before a date with my boyfriend where I really wanted to look my best. 

This is what I actually looked like. Way less makeup, glasses on, totally different colour hair where it's been over a year since my last salon appointment (damn you corona!) I posted this to remind myself the real me is way more relevent online than some filtered hidden version of me. 

It totally showed too because my friends showered me with love and support from this story - reminding me that how I look without a filter (or three) is more than okay. 

Beauty isn't falseness, it's being the real you.

I'm saying no to filters, and I think you should too.