Girls First: 5 Ways for Girls to Recognize True Beauty

1. Appreciate true beauty. Take a moment every week to thank people for being truly beautiful in the way they live. Thank a librarian for always finding that perfect book for you. Thank a friend for always listening to you. Thank yourself for being the best you. Nothing is more beautiful than that.

2. Define true beauty. Have you ever noticed how after you’ve gotten to know someone really well or seen someone practice a heart-touching kindness, the person becomes much more dear in your eyes? Talk about the attributes that define true beauty with everyone you respect — your parents, your friends, your teachers. Figure out which essential qualities and kinds of actions make people truly beautiful.

3. Find true beauty in yourself. Journal about why you are truly beautiful: What aspects of yourself you love and want to develop; what your friends and family have said that they love about you.

4. Create a vision board of true beauty. Every year, I get together with girlfriends and harvest pictures and quotes from magazines, catalogs, cards and then we each create a collage of our goals and dreams. These vision boards are our maps, charting our way to find and create true beauty in ourselves and our world. Try creating your own map to Beautiful with a vision board of your own.

5. Model true beauty. Instead of obsessing about your weight, throw your weight around to help the world — whether it’s for your friends, your school, your neighborhood, the planet.

Justina Chen is an award-winning novelist for young adults and also co-founded ReaderGirlz. North of Beautiful was designated a Best Book of 2009. Visit justinachen.com and readergirlz.com for more info.