Beauty is Strength: Mission Accomplished

I entered Under Armour's "What's Beautiful?" contest a little while ago with one goal in mind:

"I will...Prove that beauty is strength. my size, my story, my olympics, my glory" 

I participated in many challenges to prove that Beauty is Strength but, I lost. Oh well.

I didn't know if I was going to be seen, heard or followed. I didn't know if anything would come of it. I would at least give it a go and do my best knowing I at least tried to make a difference.

When I found out the results of the top 10, I felt a little disappointed to be honest. I could understand the selection of most of the finalists except one in particular who just wanted to show off her abs. You know what? It wasn't my decision to determine the top 10 finalist, and as a competitor, I needed to be OK with not winning or being a finalist. This was a good and humbling experience. It's alright to lose sometimes and I'm OK now with the way things turned out.

There are very honorable and awesome journeys that are chronicled. You should all check them out.

What's Beautiful

I thought this contest was going to be another thing to add to the list of things that didn't work out. An article came out talking about my financial struggles and the difficulties with sponsorships I've had.

The article went "viral." At least I think it went viral. There is so much love, support, compassion, and sparked a lot of debate. I have been following it all and I've been so interested to see what everyone thinks and I am using it as a way to educate people and preach love.

Despite losing the contest, I feel as if my mission was accomplished. I proved that "Beauty is Strength." Obviously I had help from the  Buzzfeed article and subsequently Indiegogo Campaign

I have received tons of donations, which I am thankful for and most importantly, the message of "Beauty is Strength" has reached probably thousands of men and women out there. I have received a lot of positive comments like:

" Thank you for getting out there and not being afraid to be a strong woman! I have always been built big and strong and even (the few) times that I wasnt overweight I weighed 200+ lbs... I am finally embracing myself and learning to be okay with my size...I felt a bit of sadness that I didnt have the courage to be who I was...So, thanks for being an inspiration to all the girls out there who are built tough like us!"

 "Reading this article changed my day around. I'm a newbie personal trainer and fitness instructor and while everyone thinks "oh, you get to work out for a living and eat whatever you want," it's not that easy and the pay to work ratio is disgusting. I loved the article, will be rooting for you in London, and wanted to tell you that my mantra is "Beauty is strength and sweat."

and a video like this: Real Women

People have taken notice, appreciate, and embrace the message of "Beauty is Strength." Because of this, I feel as if I have accomplished my goal despite losing the contest.

Put yourselves out there. Don't worry about the outcome. Just do what you think is right and the ripple effect will touch lives in ways you never imagined.