On Instagram we hide our face behind perpetual Perpetua.

We cover up our flaws with Valencia,

Sierra,

and X-Pro II.

But take away the filters

And when you look into the mirrors

Notice,

There are no flaws,

There’s only you.

The earth has hills and valleys

Just like your face and arms.

And rivers are gray,

Not always blue,

Just like your eyes,

The color of storms.

And even there

Under the harsh light,

You’ll find it’s indisputable

That even now

Without the filters,

And colors.

And touch ups,

You’ve always been beautiful.

Even more is what the world can’t see.

Your kindness,

Alacrity,

And fidelity.

Underneath all the photoshop

Is what’s most important

Your honesty,

your charity,

your upstanding comportment.

So don’t hide behind filters,

afraid of your flaws.

There might be judgment

But there will also be applause.

Be the most authentic version of you

you can be.

Don’t let others stand in your way.

It’s time to stop hiding

Because one day you’ll see,

All your photos,

Filters or not,

Are worth liking.