My life has certainly come full circle.

 When I was a baby, I was abandoned on the steps of a government building in South Korea. No note or trace was left behind by my biological parents. My life could have ended there, but instead I was saved by kind-hearted humans who took pity on the little rambunctious baby they found. Several families tried to take care of me, but apparently my crying fits were too much to bear, so I was brought to a children’s orphanage in the arms of more tolerant guardianship.

 I wasn’t at the orphanage long. Just 5 months later, I was adopted and would soon begin a new life on Long Island, New York, USA. My new Caucasian parents (British mum, American dad) had three of their own children at that time. Two years later, they would go on to adopt two more children, a bi-racial girl and boy, siblings from South Vietnam.

Through the years, it became clear that my parents felt the same love for their adopted children as they did for their biological children.

Life fell into a wonderfully chaotic rhythm that I suppose many middle-American families experience. Our animal-loving family would grow to include 6 cats and 3 dogs (some pedigrees, some rescues) which compounded the sense of boisterous domestic madness.

 In my younger years, I very seldom went without. I was clothed, fed, sheltered, and educated. I took dance classes, gymnastic lessons, and art instruction. I joined the church choir and the Brownies. I became a headstrong, competitive student.

Coming of age, however, was a difficult time for me. As an Asian girl growing up in a predominantly Caucasian community, I was often teased for my looks. Having severe adolescent acne and a mouth full of braces didn’t help matters at all. I became socially awkward and lacking in self confidence. I came to feel like I didn’t really fit in or know who I was.

In my later teens, I advanced my involvement in dance and the visual arts, and I discovered the power of fashion & cosmetic beauty. I learned to create and shape my own self image. On one hand, it was fun to experiment with clothes, cosmetics and hair color to suit my capricious moods. On the other hand, it led to constant superficial comparison with media images.

This deepened my feelings of low self esteem. I developed a bulimic eating disorder that lasted straight through my 20s. A chasm grew between my outer display of confidence and my inner sense of insecurity. It was as if I was living a life of showmanship, but deep inside I was overcome with self consciousness.

My studious nature propelled me through college and business school. My obsession with beauty landed me a job at L'Oréal in NYC. That would be the beginning of a 20+ year career in the beauty industry. I would go on to work for giants like Victoria’s Secret and Neutrogena. Like many, I started defining self worth by professional accomplishments. That was until my career was put on hold…

In 2008, my first and only son became very sick. At just 2 years old, he fell into a coma that lasted 3 months. He was ultimately diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder – a mitochondrial disease. His body could not produce enough energy to support vital functions. He was not expected to live past the age of three. But against all odds, he survived, and he is still surviving to this day. He will soon be 20 years old.

Though my son lost the ability to breathe on his own, eat by mouth, move purposefully, or speak words, he taught me what real faith, real spirit, and real beauty are all about. These are things that cannot be seen with the eyes. These are felt with the heart and imprinted on the soul.

The sum of my life experiences has caused me to develop a deep appreciation for what I now view as a more complete beauty ethos: it encompasses wellness (physical-emotional-mental); kindness (empathy-compassion-care); integrity (honesty-transparency-dependability); and inspiration (art-nature-spirit).

Pursuit of this more complete beauty ethos guides me to take better care of my full self so that I can then take better care of others. Rather than suffering the petty dissonance of trivial daily concerns, I yearn to inspire others to recognize the beauty they have and the beauty they can bestow. Essentially, I am striving to become a more selfless, connected, and fulfilled human being in service of others.

I started The Human Beauty Movement as a way for others to also discover a more complete beauty ethos for themselves. In so doing, I envision that beauty would soon be redefined to move beyond the physical to also encompass the contents of the heart and mind.

The movement is a journey. It is a daily practice of self-care, self-love, self-appreciation, and then turning to others to lend a beautiful helping hand. As I’m starting this community, I’m thankful to everyone who feels called to participate and contribute. What we’re co-creating is fundamentally positive. It’s truthfully healing. It’s intentionally loving.

And it’s perhaps the most rewarding thing we’ll experience together.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for joining The Movement!

Yours In Beauty,