Beauty Looks Like — Belinda Danielle Hill
We are excited to introduce you to Belinda Danielle Hill, Manager of Office Operations and Digital Media for NBC Universal Owned Television Stations. As we wrap up our celebration of beauty-ful ladies, and our Class of 2021, we invited Belinda to take us through her personal journey in discovering “Beauty looks like ME!”
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What does beauty look like to you? Beauty to me is more than the visual. What makes a person beautiful seldom has to do with the physical appearance. I have met some VISUALLY gorgeous people in my journey of life but their personality, the way they treat others, made them UGLY - in every way possible. So much so that I no longer could "see" that "beauty" that others saw. And just the opposite, I have come across some of the most BEAUTIFUL people in the world who have compassion and respect for others, kindhearted in every way - but may not have that "look" of what society thinks is beautiful. There is truth in the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Our physical appearance can change over time, but who you ARE as a person, how you live, treat people, etc. speaks volumes.
Tell us your journey to seeing and saying beauty looks like you. I'll start with my name. Belinda. Growing up in my black neighborhood and schools I never met another Belinda. So I grew up not liking my name at all. I wanted to have a more common name, or popular name. My sisters were Tanya, Toni, and Vicki - then came me 14 years later, Belinda. It wasn't until college that I met another Belinda, but still, all these years later, I seldom see or hear the name. Over the years I thought about that - how there are not a lot of "Belindas" out there. So I now see that as a beautiful thing. There are not many of US out there, which makes Belinda, THIS Belinda very unique. Then all of the things I didn't like about myself growing up, my teeth, my behind - because I ALWAYS had it and made me self conscious - well, I learned to love. How many women out there WANT this behind, and pay to have one like it. And my teeth, well, I got braces at 15 and now I get compliments on my smile all the time. It took a long time to look into the mirror and LOVE Belinda, but now I look at me and say "I am unique, GOD made one of me and I vow to be THE best BELINDA I know to be and I just LOVE her."
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How do you exude beauty on a daily basis? During the pandemic and then experiencing a personal health battle recently, I had a major wake up call on my life - and that included Beauty. My thoughts on beauty shifted considerably when you realize that your life is more than vanity. I began to appreciate my life in ways I never did before. Each and every morning, I now pray with my mother and sister in a circle of prayer to "set the tone of the day" per mom. We pray on the things we are most grateful for, to be alive and praise our Lord and to serve Him as best we can. I have always lived my life in that of service to others, lending a hand where I can, listening when someone needs me, and most recently giving others something to look forward to - with the start of a daily "Barbie" series on Instagram - using dolls that look like us, from our beautiful shades of brown skin, to our textured hair, and our beautiful bodies - whether tall, short, petite, curvy - I use them all in my stories to show how beautiful we are in all shapes and form, and have received such positive feedback from friends and others alike who tell me that they love to see us portrayed in such a positive way.
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What woman embodies your definition of beauty? Hands down, Janet Hill - my mother. My mother is the strongest person and the most loving, HARD LOVING, and giving person I have ever met. Her generosity and love of others, her caring nature for all who come to her makes her the most beautiful person I have been blessed to have in my life. She taught me early on that you cannot always get by on just what you "look" like, because as I mentioned before, that gets old and fast. People will always remember how you treat them. That's the kind of lasting legacy you want to leave behind.
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What could you share with a young girl who struggles with seeing beauty in the mirror? We all have things about us that make us each one of a kind and those are the things that make us individually special. I have days where I don't feel the best, or feel that I look beautiful. That's when I do what I have learned to call "60 seconds of gratitude" about me. I look into my eyes and say, no one has my deep beautiful dark honey brown eyes. And look at my face - God has placed what we learned as kids called "beauty marks" on my face, but now they are ALL OVER my face (some want to call them moles, but I will go with BEAUTY marks - and well, there are so many of them now :-) Look into the mirror, beautiful young girl, see the beauty in you that is YOU and you alone. God made one of you, look at her an the perfect face and body he made called (insert your name here). Our God makes NO mistakes. You are Beautiful #BeautyLooksLikeMe
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What does beauty look like? Join us throughout the month of March as we celebrate our second annual #BeautyLooksLikeME — showcasing beauty through the faces, stories and backgrounds of beautiful African American women. Beauty. Looks. Like. YOU! See it. Say it. Share it.
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