My daughter is 15 years old is having a very hard time with her self-esteem. She has been relentlessly ridiculed by many of the "young ladies" (trying to be delicate with my wording) she now goes to school with - they pick on her for her clothing, her skin, her voice, her hair, her eyebrows, the list goes on. It breaks my heart to say that this bullying has convinced my beautiful daughter that she is ugly, and her formerly outgoing and peppy personality has dimmed.
At her request, we went to the Sephora inside Devonshire mall a few days ago to pick up some light makeup (mascara, lipgloss, maybe a foundation or concealer), hoping it would make her feel more comfortable at school and that some of the snide remarks from the other girls would subside. I was against this at first, but if there was a possibility of it boosting her confidence, I decided it would be alright.
The main reason that I am writing this is due to the service that I received in the store and the associate's impression on my daughter. We had been in the store for a bit when a young girl approached us and asked us if there was anything she could help us with (Shayna? Shaina? I'm sorry, I can't remember the accurate spelling although I tried to memorize her name tag). She was a petite blonde girl, absolutely stunning, and fit almost all of the criteria (from the outside) as the type of girls who pick on my daughter. Both myself and my daughter sometimes feel intimidated in this store - the girls are often made up beautifully, they exude confidence... for someone new to makeup, or someone with pre-existing self-esteem issues, it's easy to feel somehow inferior, regardless of their sunny disposition. This time, I was blown away.
We were helped with products of course, but more than anything her kindness towards my daughter was what stunned me. I feel as though she somehow caught onto my daughters struggles with self-esteem during our conversation, and she went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable in her own skin. She pointed out the areas that my daughter has been most insecure about lately (like her full brows, her curly hair.. the things I've been trying to convince her not to change about herself) and expressed how beautiful she thought they were - SERIOUSLY girl, are you psychic??? She took the time to truly relate to my daughter. They talked about what had been going on at school, self-confidence, what truly makes a person beautiful, and how makeup is just something to enhance your natural beauty. These are things I've been trying unsuccessfully to convey. She was so genuine, kind-hearted and thoughtful. They even joked around a bit, and I saw my daughter light up and act silly for the first time in MONTHS. It's crazy how a 20 minute interaction can make such an impact. So, Shayna, I hope you see this, and from me and my daughter (who is no longer begging me to let her wax her eyebrows), a sincere and heartfelt thank you for your beautiful spirit.