My sister Caroline is beautiful in a natural and effortless way — and though she would never admit it of herself, she has some of the best golden-blonde hair I have ever seen. Unlike myself, who loves her fair share of trips to the salon for highlights, that’s not how Caroline rolls. Caroline is a low-maintenance, go-with-the-flow, doesn’t-take-herself-too-seriously kind of girl who I only wish I could embody. Luckily, as my twin (and sounding board for every worry and joke that comes to my mind), she is also blessed with great patience, and the kindest eyes of anyone I have ever known.
When you first meet Caroline, her natural beauty and quiet presence strikes you. As the much more calm, cool, and collected version of myself, Caroline may at first glance appear shy; but she has a laugh that makes her face glow and brings joy to all who get to be enveloped in its warmth.
When I asked Caroline what it meant to be beautiful, she explained that beauty comes with a confidence in oneself that allows for the disregard of outside judgement. When I asked her the often-daunting question that makes most people blush and squirm, of whether she considered herself to be beautiful, she became breathless and smiley (as she does when she is nervous) and replied with a simultaneously hesitant yet assuring, “yes.”
“I feel like I stay true to myself —I try to at least — in everything that I do, and I work hard, and am determined to achieve what I want to achieve,” she continued to say. Through a sheepish smile, she went on to add that she doesn’t think anybody is ugly, neither physically nor internally.
As the most selfless person I know, Caroline wears her heart on her sleeve for others, but does not like to make her personal battles known, so her answer to my question of what she believes is her most beautiful quality did not surprise me.
“I like to think I am welcoming and open minded towards everyone and who they are, what they are into. I like to try to make people feel welcomed and included and involved and important,” she said after a prolonged moment of thought.
This could not be more true.
In the moments between the background noise of our barking dog, Mojo, and our sisterly chit-chat, Caroline simply states that she feels the most beautiful when she is doing things that she enjoys (usually running or reading), and when she is with people who accept her for who she is; a no-nonsense and straight to the point answer — just like herself.
My final question, and perhaps the most telling of Caroline’s own true beauty, was that of who is the most beautiful person that she knows. After a few moments of mulling it over in her mind, her answer? Me.
Caroline managed to make me feel beautiful within a conversation that was meant to be focused on her own definition of the word – and I could not think of anything more representative of the kindness my sister holds.
Proving that beauty is so much more than a pretty face (and fabulous golden hair), Caroline shows us that beauty is in one’s ability to be themselves with such a graceful strength that others feel comfortable to be their truest selves as well.