As I sat in an airport terminal in Chicago waiting to board my spring break flight, I looked to my left to see
a young mother scolding her young daughter for eating too many M&M’s. The little girl
had her thin blonde hair in a high ponytail, with
little pieces coming out the sides signifying the end of a long day, a pink polka dot
dress complete with turquoise leggings and little brown Uggs to boot (pun intended). As she was
calming down from the episode of M&M withdrawal, her eyes bugged
out of her head as a girl a few years older than her walked by sporting a
pink cowboy hat and red cowboy boots. She tugged on her mom’s shirt, “Mom,
look at her boots! She’s wearing cowboy boots!”
“Yes,” her mom whispered. “But
you’re wearing Uggs, and they’re much better,”
she assured her daughter as she tried to hush
the little girl’s rising voice. “No, mommy. I’m wearing cowboy boots! These
are cowboy boots!” she protested. “Honey, those are Uggs.”
“No mom!”
The argument continuted until the mom looked up, and our eyes met as I observed the conversation. She smiled and shook her head as I said, “She’s feeling the cowboy boots apparently! Keep telling
yourself that honey. You have awesome boots on,” I added, looking at the daughter.
She beamed at me and danced around in her brown Uggs that had in the last minute
magically transformed to red cowboy boots.
An hour later I was on the plane reading the latest Cosmopolitan (guilty
pleasure). Usually I don’t find the content particularly deep or fascinating, simply
mindless reading to pass the time after a long day. But one article struck me. Olivia
Wilde, the cover girl for this issue, speaks about how shoes give her confidence
and power. She doesn’t wear stilettos to please a guy, but for herself. “We are at
our sexiest when we feel most confident,” the author says in the article. “So how
do we remind ourselves of our fabulousness without letting our self doubt or the
criticisms of others drag us down? Triggers. We wear heels. We get waxed. We do
things that make us attractive to ourselves, and, therefore, able to allow others to
do the same…It’s possible that the same fake-it-till-you-make-it philosophy goes for
conjuring up confidence,” (Cosmopolitan, p. 50).
I couldn’t agree more. Granted, our self-appreciation should go much deeper
than our wardrobe. Like the article says though, “on some days we need a little
magic” (50).
Both Olivia and this little anonymous five year old have embraced a concept
that too many women never seem to grasp. Self-appreciation rests deep within
us, but sometime when we can’t see it, we need a little help. That killer pair of
stilettos just might bring a certain power and confidence until we start to embrace it
ourselves.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Syracuse chapter.