Boys.

The entire female race is guilty of self inflicted torture.

We pluck, wax, paint, gloss, straighten, curl, sick in, dress up, dress down, walk on stilts, and wear things that sparkle, and it is all because of one thing...

BOYS

Stupid, smelly, oblivious, beautiful boys.

Girls can be the most vicious creatures on the planet. I know. I've experienced it. They will put down and prey upon their own kind (just so long as they don't mess up their hair), they'll pretend to be your friend and then rub mud in your face, and they'll constantly remind you that you aren't as pretty as them, and it's all a stupid, petty game for the boys.

That's right guys.

All of this is your fault. :)

I mean, think about it! As soon as a girl wants a guy, every other girl becomes competition, andm ost girls are too petty to realize that "destroying the competition" is NOT the way to go in getting a man.

But what do I know?

Not much.

Remember, I've never "had a man".

Ever.

And you know what, I'm better for that! I've been able to grow up through my teenage years without being co-dependant. I've developed who I am without the help of anybody else and I know and love myself.

But it'd be a lie to say that my self esteem never stuggled from the lack of attention I got from boys during High School.

Aside from School Dances (lots of which I came close to going to by myself to or asking the guy myself) and "that one guy" who plans group dates like every weekend so when it's your turn you know you're just the next one on the list... does that count?

Anyhow, aside from that and school dances I really didn't get asked out.

..like...ever.

And as a teenage girl, one of the most heartbreaking things to experience is to see all of your best friends getting asked out, or having what seemed like the time of their lives with their boyfriends, and being the one who always got overlooked. Having to listen to the first kiss stories was probably the hardest, because I'm not going to lie... I wanted that in High School almost more than anything! I wanted to have that perfect kiss, and I wanted to have it in High School... I don't know why, but it just felt like a right of passage into womanhood and I felt so incomplete compared to everybody else without it.

It took so much from my self worth (which it shoudln't have... but it did) and instead of being able to see that it was the fault of the boys, not mine, I went straight to my appearence.

I was convinced that boys didn't like me because my eyebrows were too bushy... so in the 6th grade I started getting them waxed.

When that didnt' make a difference, I decided it was because of my braces... they came off in the 7th grade.

When that didn't make a difference either I decided it was because of how flat chested I was... so I bought a push-up bra (tru story folks).

The push-up was a bad decision, we can all agree on that, plus it didn't work either, so I decided it must be that I didn't wear makeup... so I started wearing it my Junior year.

And what happened?!? You guessed it, nothing. So I figured it must be my thin, wispy, limp hair... so I cut it all off (not 100% for guys, but probably 40%).

Again... crickets. So what did I do after that?

I cried.

Because that's what I do when there is nothing else to "fix".

In the words of one of my guy friends, "It's so sad, like you're Miss Invisible and the guys just look right through you..."

That's what it felt like, and sometime I would just stare in the mirror at my face and try to pin point exactly what was so unappealing to the male race. The answer had to be in some blemish, or an eye that was higher or lower than the other, or an alfalfa hair, or... SOMETHING!

I mean, what else could it be?!?

Again... the thought never crossed my mind that it might be the fault of - not mine - but the boys. In fact, only just today did this thought occur to me. In the past 24 hours now I have heard of probably 3 of my friends who had gone on 3 different dates this weekend, which is fantastic for them! :) How fun! But why should I blame myself for being me, and having standards, and being not willing to settle?

I've had guys tell me that they would've dated me if I'd been a little "less innocent" (aka, I would've dated you if I knew I'd be able to get into your pants... no thank you!!!), or if I'd shown a "little more skin", or if I'd been just a little bit more "rebelious".

Why would I change what keeps me grounded, close to my Savior, and quite frankly, ME, for one person? One person who would only be in my life for a tiny period of time, and didn't care about me as a person, but rather as an object?

So boys, honestly, tell your friends who are girls how much you appreciate them. Please, if they keep their standards, call them out on it in a GOOD way!

Then them how beautiful it is when they dress modestly, or when they don't wear makeup (a boy once told me that I "actually look pretty when I put some makeup on"... I can't make this crap up).

Tell them how much you appreciate their clean language.

Thank them for their examples, take them on dates, tell them they're beautiful (because they are, all of them ARE).

They need it. They're hard wired to want attention from you, and you don't have to try and become their boyfriend to give it to them. You really don't. Trust me. :)

Just smile at them, say "thank you", and let them know that all the hard work they do pays off.

It's a crime that the good girls always get looked over, and I'm always hearing the guys at church say how much they hate when girls wear their booty shorts, or let their boobs hang out of their shirts, or cuss, or act obnoxiously or empty headedly.

So PROVE it by diverting your attention from those girls to the ones who actually try.

You have no idea the difference you'll make.

That is all I have to say.

Sincerely,

All the Girls of the WORLD!!!!

*Post inspired by my conversation with Lindsay Sanders this morning... I sure love my Lindsay!!! MWAH!