Creative Project

More Beautiful You- Jonny Diaz

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn't straight her body isn't fake
And she's always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you've already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you've got a man but he's got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there's a man whose love is true
And he'll treat you like the jewel you are

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

So turn around you're not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It's not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who's strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you'll see through the eyes of a little girl

There could never be a more beautiful you
dont buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you
There could never be, a more beautiful you.

           The song lyrics and photograph about describe my coming of age experience perfectly. As with any high school student, graduation is perhaps one of the biggest days of there lives for it marks the beginning of their independence and a whole new life. For me, my graduation was even a bigger moment than just the fact of graduating. My parents got divorced when I was in sixth grade and from that point on I never saw much of my dad. He is in the military and after their divorce he was constantly traveling. He remarried a year later to a women who is also in the military. My dad moved out to Washington D.C. about three years ago and will be moving to Hawaii in June. Most of my birthdays as well as my sister’s were spent with just my mom because my dad could not make it back. Not having my own dad there throughout some of the most important years in my life was really difficult. The adolescent stage for most is the time where one develops their own identity and figure out who they are. As we learned in the Rebecca Raby study Across a Great Gulf? she states “The category of adolescence in itself can be considered a legacy of developmental approaches…it is perceived as a distinct category, on that is part of but not separate from childhood” (40). As these years were the biggest part of my developmental stage, not having my dad there is a huge influence on my coming of age throughout those adolescent years. Because he had missed so many important events throughout my adolescent years I was surprised when I found out he would make it to my graduation. My graduation was one of the first and only days since my parents divorce that I finally felt like my family was back together, even for just a moment. My step-mom could not make it so only my dad showed up, which was actually a good thing! Having my whole family there meant so much to me and will be a day that I will always cherish and this is why this picture means so much to me.
         The song lyrics “More Beautiful You” are from a song that my dad used to always play for me. Even though he wasn’t around much he tried to show me that he still cared by doing little things like this. He always told me that I don’t have to conform to what society thinks young girls should look like or act like; instead to be myself and be happy. The reminds me of Kearney’s research in Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of Female Youth Culture where she states “The number of girls completing high schools and college education is greater then ever before, and there are more opportunities for girls who want to move out of traditional female roles…“ (289). Now, more then ever, girls are able to do the things that want to do and these song lyrics always remind me of that. In our senior yearbook there was a spot next to our senior pictures where parents could choose to write something to be added into everyone’s year book next to there child’s picture. My dad wrote “There could never be a more beautiful you” and that meant the world to me because it was from the special song he always played for me. The song and photograph above really describe the relationship with my family and my coming of age experience.