lthough Kamaria doesn’t drink coffee, she says that if she did, she would like it extra sweet, which is fitting for a kind, brave, and sweet soul like her. Kamaria Jones, an entrepreneur from Los Angeles, exemplifies what it means to walk the walk instead of simply talking the talk by challenging women to find their “beauty crutch.”
Growing up, Kamaria was the quintessential “tomboy”; she chose football over getting her nails done, getting dirty over going to the mall. Because she felt as if all the boys saw her as just a friend, Kamaria started to feel ugly and undesirable; she felt that being herself just wasn’t enough. “My hair never looked right. My clothes never seemed to fit right. I didn’t love myself,” she said. It was almost impossible for Kamaria to realize the immense beauty and greatness that were developing and growing inside of her.
One day, in her English class, Kamaria’s teacher instructed the class to write a paper on something that meant a lot to them and that would affect other people. Since she had struggled so deeply with her self-esteem, Kamaria decided to write about beauty. “At the end of the day, we as women are taught to have crutches—beauty crutches. Your heels, your makeup—You should have this, buy this, if your face looks like this, then you’re beautiful,” she explained. Sitting at her desk, writing about how women should lose their beauty crutch, Kamaria began to think about how she was unwilling to lose hers—her hair. “I started to think about how if my hair wasn’t done, I would throw on sweatpants and feel down on myself. My confidence went down when my hair wasn’t done—I didn’t feel beautiful, and I would literally change my demeanor [if my hair didn’t look right].” Kamaria found her own beauty crutch. She looked in the mirror. “What would happen if my crutch was removed? I would sink or swim,” she said. “I grabbed my ponytail and chopped it off.” She never looked back.
Kamaria explains that believing in her own beauty and recognizing her power as a woman are just a few of the battles she has conquered by losing her “crutch.”
Beauty comes in so many different forms, she says, and what society claims makes you attractive is garbage. Limiting how much she scrolls through social media, being mindful of the TV shows and movies she watches, and setting aside time daily for positive affirmations help Kamaria keep her mind healthy and her focus clear. Kamaria believes that true happiness is a journey, not a destination, so start YOUR journey today; what’s YOUR beauty crutch? Now go smash it!
To see more of Kamaria and her journey, please follow her @kamariajoy
