T minus 9
The Turks say “Whoever the heart loves, she is the beauty.” But what they neglect to say is that the lover makes you feel beautiful too. I remember my encounter with the mesmerizer – because no emotion was fed back from it, I wondered if there was something wrong with me – too fat, didn’t shave my legs, too eager, not eager enough? But when someone loves you, you feel strong, and beautiful, and brave.
The truth is that without someone I feel strong, beautiful and brave – but when I took these elements out to the world the men and women I was interested in reported back “you are not” and actually “you are scary.” As strong as my self-esteem is, it is a little unnerving to have the mating call and response negate all of my own self assessments. So when the response comes back with a resounding YES – it’s like WOW – BAM, SHAZAM, KAPOW – my portrait of Wonder Woman as my alter ego is painted with deeper hues and turns 3D and so yes, the one I love is beautiful and rare as an exotic flower, but the way she loves me makes me more beautiful still.