When I started writing Beautiful You, the title poem itself started to take on an image of strength. From the first line to the last, it demonstrates strength and hope in the midst of pain and disappointment:

I look into your eyes
Beyond a million tears
To see you begging
To rid you of your fears

I want the first four lines to demonstrate that even though there is pain in whatever personal difficulties one faces that, in those tear filled eyes, there is a lot of hope. There is hope that you will get over whatever fear or difficulty you may face. I have always believed that tears are powerful healers. They help to release your emotions and sometimes helps you sort through things.

I look at your mouth
Beyond a tired frown
To see you wondering
When you'll wear your crown

When I see people who are down about the mouth, I know how tired they must feel. When you are awake and thriving and feeling great it is so easy to smile. I heard somewhere once that it takes more energy to frown than it does to smile. It takes more muscles to produce a frown than it does a smile! Frowning takes more energy so it makes you feel tired. Therefore, when I think of things that give me a hard time, I always try to remember that there are millions of other people out there with problems worse than what I have. It makes it easier for me to smile. Think about it: Next time you smile, notice that you hold yourself a little higher, stand a little taller. It changes the atmosphere around your being.

I look into your heart
Beyond its breaking beats
To see you asking
If you can endure the heat

I feel that as long as my heart is beating, no matter how difficult the issue, I can get through anything. The heart is such a powerful muscle that it can help you power through any problem. Dedication and determination help make the heart stronger and the fight to power through your problems a little easier.

I look at your hands
Beyond their aching joints
To see them praying
Your anguished mind to anoint

What do millions of people do everyday that gives them strength? Pray. I heard someone close to me say, at one point, she prayed so hard and so much her hands ached to keep them folded in prayer anymore! I knew how much she was relying on the power of faith to help heal her. How much more strong or beautiful can you get than that? No amount of words I write could ever demonstrate how powerful that is.

I look into your soul
Beyond its hopeful feeling
To see you anticipating
Its eventual healing

In one's belief you can get through difficulties, you tell yourself that it is only a matter of time before things improve. Time heals all wounds. If you believe that, as I have at certain times, you will see that with family, friends and a supportive network that healing can begin quickly and be softened by that love and support; it can be likened to a blanket that keeps you warm when the world is feeling cold.

I look into
All these parts of you
And see nothing less
Than beautiful you

In the final four lines of Beautiful You, when you look at a being that is full of love, faith, determination and strength you find a beautiful person who uses all those characteristics to bring themselves through tough times.

When I wrote this poem, as I point out in my introduction, I and several of my friends faced some difficult problems and or decisions. I felt that inner strength is what brought us all through our respective problems and allowed us to apply the lessons learned and strength gained to the future. I know I look back on what I had gone through and can proudly say to myself, 'I guess I was stronger than I knew'.

It was an incredible experience to write this second book. So much of it is me personally, but it is also about anybody w