TRUE BEAUTY: Local students create ‘The Me Project’ to build inner strength

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Three South Brunswick Middle School students are trying to change lives one girl at a time by making them more aware of their self worth.

As you walk the halls of South Brunswick Middle School, you will see about 700 kids. Aidra Hood, Reagan Phillips and Rees Osborne are three students there who are hoping to see their classmates more aware of their true beauty.

“We come in different shapes and sizes,” one said. “Looking from the outside, it’s sometimes easy to make assumptions of who you think someone is but usually our assumptions are wrong.”

The girls said they were always taught “how beauty comes from the heart, beauty is being kind, and how you feel on the inside is how you will treat others around you and that is what beauty is all about.”

After talking to their parents multiple times about noticing how “the girls just don’t seem to know their worth”, they finally looked and said, “do something about it”.

This is where “The Me Project” came about.

 The girls said the idea is to take pictures of students, who would like to take part in the project, and ask them what they think their “inside beauty” is. The trio came up with different quotes for the students to pick between:

Aidra- My inner strength is…

Rees- What makes me unique is…

Reagan- My inner beauty trait is…

The girls plan on asking 5 girls per week to showcase what their inner beauty is.

They said in today’s world, magazines, TV shows, videos and the public in general, put so much emphasis on body image, make up, the perfect outfit and who has the name brand product.

“To be honest, none of this really matters. People will not remember you for the ‘cool’ person you are, but they will remember you for being kind and letting others see what you genuinely have to offer as a peer, a friend, a mentor and a person who sees beauty from the inside out,” they said.

They said their hope is to incorporate a “new look” to society, one that will focus on what our heart looks like instead of our outward beauty.