Teeny-Bopper Beauty

 Mariah is 12, right on the edge of her teen years.  She is about to start middle school.  I can't believe it, it seems like only yesterday she was a baby.  Mariah is just like any other tween, she's giggly, she goes silly for Justin Bieber, she loves to talk, and text, and dance, and go to the mall, and try out new styles.
  One thing that is a little different about Mariah than most of her peers is her size.  She's teeny-tiny, the smallest in her class, and you remember what it's like to be a little bit different from everyone else in school.  She gets teased.   Kids in school can be relentless and they can be nasty, and being teased in school can make a person strong or it can make a person break.  Guess which one Mariah has chosen.
  Well, she's our Beautiful Girl today, and strength is beautiful, so I'm sure you can guess.  Mariah is strong and brave.  Even though it hurts her feelings, she doesn't let teasing from kids who are not being beautiful break her!
  One little phrase that has always annoyed me is 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me'.  It's not true!  It hurts to be teased, and I hope you younger girls don't do it, and I hope you moms will not tolerate it from your children.  Mariah is spunky, scrappy, and smart, and she has turned teasing into strength.  But she shouldn't have had to.  Being a little different from one another is one of the things that makes us beautiful, and we should be celebrating that fact!  That's what Just the Girls: Real Beauty is all about!