If you haven't checked out my Inspirations page, I suggest you do so. Especially since today's post features one inspiration that I have revisited again and again over the past few years.

The Last Lecture is a speech that was given by Randy Pausch, a man with pancreatic cancer who knew he was going to die, and soon. He created the Last Lecture: the lecture you would hypothetically give to your students if you knew you were going to die.

You can watch the ten minute version of the speech he gave on the Oprah Winfrey show here, or you can watch the full length speech (which I totally suggest because it is beyond worth the hour and forty-five minutes) here.

There are a lot of things that Randy talks about that are really moving, eye-opening, and thought-provoking. It is truly inspirational. But I have come to realize that this blog is sort of my Last Lecture. All of these things that I have been writing about are the things I would share with the people I know and love if I knew I was going to die. Love yourself. You are beautiful. I love each and everyone one of you. You are important to me. Find the beauty in yourself. Take baby steps, and be proud of yourself when you are successful. Be independent. Ask for help when you are struggling. Don't let others define you.

Originally, I was going to write about Randy's Last Lecture, but instead I'll take one piece of his advice and make that another part of my Last Lecture.

"The brick walls in our life are there for a reason."

I believe in this 100%. The struggles we face aren't for nothing. They have a purpose. Maybe it is to show others, or ourselves, how strong or competent we really are. Maybe it is to protect us from another brick wall. Maybe we won't know the purpose for years. This is the hardest part to deal with.

Recently, I have been dealing with a brick wall. And I have no idea what the purpose of it is. But I have renewed faith that there is a purpose to this wall. One day I will discover what the purpose of this brick wall is. And I will be stronger for having dealt with it, and stronger for finally knowing why the wall was built in the first place.

Embrace your brick walls. Climb them, take them down brick by brick, blow it over with a bulldozer. But understand that the wall is there for a reason.

I feel like the purpose for many of my brick walls has been this blog. Because of brick walls I have knocked down, I created this blog. And I couldn't be happier. I am glad to have dealt with some difficult things if this is what the purpose was. Because helping myself, my friends, people I may not even know, is worth any brick wall no matter how high or how thick.

Again, feel free to contact me on Twitter, via email, or by commenting below.

Spread the word, and spread the beauty.

Shannon

So often other people look at us and see us one thing. You're the girl with the green eyes. You are the girl with the big boobs. You're the really tall guy. You are that guy who sings. You're the computer chick. We are recognized by others as that person with that one specific attribute (positive or negative).

It is so hard to not see yourself as that same person with just that one attribute. But take a minute to think about it. You aren't just really tall. You're also smart. You're funny. You are a million other things besides tall. Do not define yourself by one characteristic. And stop letting others define you like that as well.

If we continue to let others, and ourselves, define us in only one or maybe two ways, we become just those characteristics. You become, on the inside, the girl with the nice butt. You are not interesting anymore. You are not funny anymore. You see yourself as the girl with the nice butt and begin to use that as the way you connect with people. Instead of connecting with people on a multitude of levels.

Do not box yourself in. Do not become that one thing. Do not shut yourself off from all the things you could become if you gave yourself the chance. You are more than that one thing.

You are beautiful for so many reasons, not just one. Show off all of them. Not just the one people generally notice. Don't be predictable. Yes, maybe you have fantastic eyes. But blow everyone's mind with your hidden talent: movie trivia. Stop relying on your pretty eyes and take chances.

When you define yourself by one thing, you are giving other's the greenlight to do the same thing. Be yourself in everything you do. Be a dancer, an artist, a mathematician, and the girl who is really short. Don't be afraid to share all the awesome things about you.

You are you. You are nothing less than you.

Share the awesome things about yourself by contacting me via Twitter, by email, or by commenting below.

Spread the word, and spread the beauty.

Shannon

As everyone I have ever met knows, I have the coolest and cutest dog in the world, Cliffy. Today, he reminded me of the beauty in baby steps.

Since we brought Cliffy home in June 2012, he has been a very special kind of dog. Cliffy is absolutely terrified of pretty much everything. The lawn mower. And loud noises. Any person who doesn't live in my house. The car. Sometimes the TV. It takes him a long time to become acclimated to new things and people. But in the past fourteen months, he has improved so much.

For the first time today, Cliffy stayed home alone without being put in his crate. He watched us leave from our front door, and then he laid on our green fluffy chair for an hour and fifteen minutes. All by himself. He was so brave.

In fourteen months, Cliffy has grown from a scared little puppy into a almost brave... okay really just less scared dog. But he has grown. At his own pace. And he been very successful.

I have taken a lesson from him. I don't have to be perfect the first time. Or the second time or even the third. But I have to take baby steps. We all do. You aren't going to wake up one day and suddenly love every single thing about yourself. But each day you can become a little more comfortable in your own skin.

Believe me. If Cliffy can come this far, you absolutely can too. When we first brought him home, I thought he was going to be a ten year old dog who still wouldn't walk in our backyard alone. Just keep looking for your own beauty, and don't give up.

For those of you who have been reading my blog every day for the past week, think about how you felt about yourself one week ago and how you feel about yourself today. I hope it's a little bit different. Imagine what baby steps you can take in the next month or six months or a year. Remember that life is a journey. It's not just a list of events that have happened.

As always, share stories with me on Twitter, by email, or by commenting below.

Spread the word, and spread the beauty.

Shannon

Another video that is completely worth the watch. I don't even know who this guy is, but he's brilliant.

He is completely right. I don't know anyone who is ugly. I don't. The only people I have EVER thought as "ugly" have been people that I have found rude, disrespectful, or downright mean.

"We are all born beautiful." This is so true. Every baby is born onto this planet as a beautiful human being. We grow into beautiful children. It is not until we are old enough to judge others that we can become "ugly". And by "ugly" I mean internally. This internal attitude, your personality, does truly have a huge effect on your external beauty.

"The more you love or adore something, the more their internal beauty takes over everything." I love this statement. And I want you to start applying it to yourself. The more you can love yourself (your physical attributes and your personality) the more beautiful you will be not only to yourself but to others.

People always notice those who beaming smiles and happy personalities. These positive and upbeat people are attractive. Not because their nose is just the right size or their skin is perfectly tanned, but because their internal beauty outshines any external characteristics that the media has convinced us is "unattractive". Love yourself because you are kind. You are thoughtful. You have a good work-ethic. You like to help others. There are a million things about you that you should love. Value them.

The best news is that internal beauty is something you can find if you have lost it. If you are thinking to yourself, "I am not nice. I am mean and rude. I am not beautiful on the inside," it's okay. You can become beautiful. You can change your attitude. You CAN be a better person. You know what to do, you have spent your whole life learning how to be nice to others. Just start doing it, and don't let others convince you that being mean is better.

I have so thankful to have see this video. I hope you are too.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter or send me an email or comment below.

Spread the word, and spread the beauty.

Shannon

As I have mentioned, I am a dance teacher. Every year I encounter new (and old) students. Some you get to watch grow up, and others are already grown when they walk into the studio.

Ideally, you'd like to remember every single student you have forever, but that is pretty much impossible. However, there are definitely some who really make an impact on you. (Side note: if you work with kids, you make an impact on a lot more of them than you think)

There is one student I have become close with in the past year. I think of her as my mini-me because we are very similar. Unintentionally, the first thing I say about her when I talk about her is "I love her". She's in those teenage years. The really sucky ones that people tell you are "the best time of your life". In all honesty, every single day can be the best time of your life if you make it that way, so don't ever believe that once a certain chapter of your life ends that you are no longer in the "best time of your life".

My mini-me is a fabulous dancer. She's a great human being. She's so smart. Yet, she's in this constant struggle to be accepted by her peers. She is never her true self around her friends because she is afraid that they won't accept her anymore. She hides the unique parts of herself and does what she thinks the others will think is cool.

It's these unique parts of her that I love the most. Be different. Be yourself. You are you not anyone else. And you are pretty freaking awesome.

Her struggle with peer acceptance has led her to struggle with self-acceptance. But she is so great. One of the greatest things about her is her work ethic. She never gives up. She never stops trying. She works and works until she is perfect. Admirable. I admire her.

Why do we live in a society where it is so easy to find our faults and so difficult to find the positives. I challenge you find one positive thing about yourself every single day. If your immediate reaction to this challenge isn't "YES!" then at least answer this: why don't you want to think the positive things about yourself? What bad things can come from thinking of something positive about yourself?!

Don't make it too hard, friends. Today, my positive thing is that I have one random blonde eyelash. The rest are black. It's strange. But ya know what, it's also pretty cool. And I'm glad I have one blonde eyelash. I'm always up for a little bit of variety.

So I want you to find your blonde eyelash of the day. Feel free to share by commenting below, tweeting me, or sending an email.

Spread the word. And spread the beauty.

Shannon

In the approximately 72 hours that this site and blog have been in existence, I have been more than inspired by the friends and family around me, who have supported me while doing this. So many of them have reached out to me to tell me that they think I am doing something great. To hear that from people who have inspired me and really meant something to me is absolutely amazing.

I have never felt more blessed to be surrounded by the people I know and love. Even if they are the only people who see or read my blog, knowing that they love me enough, and want others to see the beauty in this world, has made me so grateful and proud of myself for starting this.

Because of the support I have received, I am more motivated to share what I think is beautiful and to hopefully help others to see the beauty in themselves as well.

And today especially I see the beauty in my friends. I have always tried to surround myself with positive and non-judgemental people, and after starting this blog, I realized just how successful I have been at that. To every single one of you who have helped me thus far, thank you so incredibly much.

I challenge you to look at the people in your life. Cherish the ones who have helped and supported you through the chapters that have really meant something to you. Thank them. Make sure they know that you appreciate them. I also challenge you to give back. Help and support a friend in their new adventure as well. You never know what you might learn by helping someone else follow their dreams.

You can share how someone has supported you by commenting on this post, contacting me on Twitter, or sending me an email.

As always, spread the beauty and spread the word.

Shannon

Watch this video. It is totally worth the three minutes.

Watching this video may have been the most inspiring three minutes of my life. Everything about this video is absolutely true. And not just for women, but for a lot of men as well.

We absolutely are our own worst critics. We look at ourselves and see our flaws. We decide that there is so much wrong with us. But we ARE beautiful. Every single one of us. There is something amazing about each of us. This video shows that the people we meet see the beauty in others. They look at us and see these great features, physical AND internal. So why can we still not see them ourselves? Stop picking out your flaws. Pick out something beautiful.

I hope after watching this video, you feel like I did: just a little more confident in yourself.  Others see our beauty. We should see our own beauty too.

Spread the word and, of course, spread the beauty.

Shannon

Each of us has so much beauty inside of us just because we think of others.

This morning I taught a class of three-year-olds. They're always precious, but today was special. One little girl that I know fairly well marched right on up to me and handed me a dandelion. "Here you go, Miss Shannon. I want to give this to you." I told her it was beautiful. And it is beautiful.

The dandelion in question, pictured above, is not only a beautiful creation, but it is beautiful because my little dancer gave it to me. She wanted to me to know that she was thinking of me. That I am important enough to her to warrant a gift. And not just any gift, but a very pretty flower that she hand-picked.

After I thanked her for the flower, she ran back to her mother and returned with a clear cup. Inside the cup was a dead grasshopper. My little dancer had named it Aurora, after her (and mine!) most favorite princess. She explained to me how when they walked to their car to drive to dance class the dead grasshopper was on their windshield. This little dancer thought the grasshopper was really pretty, which is why she named it Aurora.

And here is yet another reason I love kids. They see the beauty in more things than we do as adults. What adult takes the time to preserve a grasshopper and show it to the people around them? Look at this little guy who was once alive and enjoying life. Let's not forget about him. He is important too. Adults rarely do this sort of thing. But kids do. They care about everyone and everything. Even the dead grasshopper on their windshield.

I challenge you to acknowledge the beauty in something you don't normally notice. The way the grain in the wood is just a certain way, or the way the grass blows slightly just before a storm. Find something beautiful and out of the ordinary.

I want to hear about your stories of beauty. Comment, email, or tweet me your story or picture of something beautiful.

In the meantime, spread the word and spread the beauty.

Shannon

As a dance teacher, I spend most of my time looking at beautiful people. Beautiful children. Beautiful teachers. Beautiful parents. As a dance teacher, I spend a lot of my time looking at these beautiful people look at themselves in the mirror.

As a dancer, mirrors are often your worst enemy. The purpose of the mirror in the studio is so you can see your own faults. Your lack of turnout, your weak arm, your bent knees. But when I look at these dancers, I see great, intelligent kids, who work hard. And I want them to see it too.

The youngest group of kids I work with are three years old. They're three! They all think: "I am so wonderful!" all the time, right? Wrong. Every year we squat down to measure these little ones, who are barely past being a baby, for their bedazzled costumes. Step one: measure their bust. They giggle when you put the tape measure under their armpits. Step two: measure their waist. They suck in. Three year olds already have this reaction to suck in their tummy to look smaller. It makes my heart hurt to see these little ones think they there is something about them that could be more beautiful.

And that is why this site and Twitter page (http://www.twitter.com/seethebeauty3) are all about being beautiful in your own way. I intend to write about, and post some pictures, of why I think those around me are beautiful, why I am beautiful, and why you should think you are beautiful. Please spread the word! And please spread beauty.

Shannon