Friday Notes – December 4, 2009

S wrote, “My friend Katie and I discovered Operation Beautiful a while ago and love it! Next week is final week here at the University of Illinois and it can be a crazy, stressful time.  We decorated our hall with this Princess sign and tons of Operation Beautiful notes for the girls to take, so even during final they can feel beautiful!”

Brie posted these notes at the mall, in the bathroom and in a Christmas tree display:

Aubrey wrote, “I checked Operation Beautiful today and saw that someone found a note I posted at a Trader Joe’s in Kettering, Ohio.  That was me!  I’m pretty excited that a fellow Operation Beautiful-er saw it! A few weeks ago, on November 19, someone found a note I left in a bar bathroom on the University of Dayton’s campus. She said it made her night and hearing that made my day. I’ve posted lots of notes around my campus and many of them have been left up for the past few months!   I fell in love with the OperationBeautiful movement this past summer after I saw the website for the first time. Like many of the ladies who have been posting notes, I’ve dealt with my fair share of insecurities regarding body image. This summer after a short bout of trying to lose weight to reach an unhealthy size, I decided enough was enough. No matter my size, I was never any happier or sadder. I realized it was my attitude I really needed to change. It isn’t the easiest thing, trying to change your opinion about yourself, but it’s worth it to be able to look in the mirror and smile at your image.   Here is one of the notes I have waiting to be posted:”

Bertha wrote, “I was reading Operation Beautiful yesterday and saw this quote: "Sam wrote, “I posted this at a speech and debate tournament- I hope it helped take away some nervousness!”   Guess what?  I was at this tournament! This is the post-it that introduced me to this beautiful site, and this post-it also cheered me up so much after a bad round. Thank you so much, Sam!”

Tisa wrote, “I came across Operation Beautiful on, of all places, Clumps of Mascara… a humorous beauty blog by the lovely and wonderful Brittany! As a single woman, a belly dancer, in recovery, that has struggled with weight and self-image issues all her life… I was moved… I cried.  I, a blogger myself wrote this that day:  The judgments, expectation and criticism of others I have always viewed as my own inadequacies and failures. I can now see they are simply their own human insecurities and frailties. I empathize. I can forgive them because I am starting to forgive myself. Regret is resentment inverted on oneself- I let them both go.”

Jee from Sydney, Australia, wrote, “We did Operation Beautiful with a bit of a twist.  We walked around and gave out pre-made post its with encouraging messages to any girl/woman/grandmother we walked passed. While some may have rejected the notes, others were delighted by them and seeing them smile was enough for one’s heart to jump around! It was an amazing experience!”

Sarah wrote, “I’m a college student, and sometimes little fliers like these show up in the public bathrooms on campus. They are usually left in the stalls or on the sink. Normally, when I happen upon them, I throw them out. But today, I remembered Operation Beautiful, and I decided to do something different. I took the opportunity while the bathroom was otherwise empty to go into all the stalls and write "you are beautiful" on the backs of all these weight-loss fliers. Some people came in before I was done, so I hightailed it out of there, but I took the remaining ones with me, to deposit in other locations. In this photo, you can see the front of one of the fliers and the back of one as I’ve "improved" it.”

Anna wrote, “This morning, while going to an psychiatrist appointment, I thought I would post this note in the bathroom in the psychiatric/therapy waiting room. I know that many of the people who go to therapy, would most definitely benefit from seeing these postings. I think Operation Beautiful is a fabulous idea, and has lifted my spirits many times. I will be posting these notes at my biweekly appointments in Madison, WI where hopefully this effort will take off!”

If you love Operation Beautiful and want to participate, post a note, take a picture, and e-mail it to Caitlin at seebriderun@gmail.com.  Spread the love!