--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is beautiful,\" I said, ignoring the…" description: "\"“This is beautiful,\" I said, ignoring the shop window to trace the gleaming stone walls fronting another boutique. \"You know what's funny?\" Jacob asked..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/justina-chen-headley-28491_beauty_this-is-beautiful-i-said-ignoring-the-sh_874836.jpg" --- # This is beautiful," I said, ignoring the shop window to… ![“This is beautiful," I said, ignoring the shop window to trace the gleaming stone walls fronting another boutique. "You know what's funny?" Jacob asked. He didn't wait for my answer. "You can see beauty in everything, except for yourself." *** I swallowed hard. Erik thought my body was beautiful…” quote by Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/justina-chen-headley-28491_beauty_this-is-beautiful-i-said-ignoring-the-sh_874836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/justina-chen-headley-28491_beauty_this-is-beautiful-i-said-ignoring-the-sh_874836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/justina-chen-headley-28491_beauty_this-is-beautiful-i-said-ignoring-the-sh_874836.jpg) > ““This is beautiful," I said, ignoring the shop window to trace the gleaming stone walls fronting another boutique. "You know what's funny?" Jacob asked. He didn't wait for my answer. "You can see beauty in everything, except for yourself." \*\*\* I swallowed hard. Erik thought my body was beautiful, Karin that it was enviable. At random times, people had noted that my hands were beautiful, or my hair. The Twisted Sisters had called my art beautiful. Mom had the best intentions and always told me before and after my laser surgeries that I would be beautiful. But no one had ever said that I was beautiful, all my parts taken together, not just the bits and pieces.”” [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects the struggle of feeling incomplete and seeking validation of whole self-worth beyond fragmented compliments. **In simple terms:** Feeling whole is harder than getting compliments on parts. Key Takeaway Seek self-acceptance beyond external praise. Themes self‑esteem identity validation body image Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type literary personal narrative philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy sessions - artistic creation - family discussions Key Concepts holistic self‑worth psychology of beauty social validation Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself do you accept? - How can you cultivate whole‑self love? A Different Perspective External validation cannot replace internal self‑acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Best intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-intentions/) ## Related quotes > [“I swallowed hard. Erik thought my body was beautiful, Karin that it was enviable. At random times, people had noted that my hands were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen/i-swallowed-hard-erik-thought-my-body-was-beautiful-karin-that-it-was/) [Justina Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen/) > [“You’re not beautiful,” he said. “Your profile said beautiful. You kind of overreached on that one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-dunning/you-re-not-beautiful-he-said-your-profile-said-beautiful-you-kind-of/) Diane Dunning > [I think that each woman, whatever age, needs to recognize something good in her body. Someone has beautiful legs, someone has beautiful hair, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/i-think-that-each-woman-whatever-age-needs-to-recognize-something/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [Your body is a beautiful manifestation powered by spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dolan/your-body-is-a-beautiful-manifestation-powered-by-spirit/) [Michael Dolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dolan/) > [I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful because of the journey it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-m-with-a-man-who-s-evolved-enough-to-look-at-my-body-and-see-it-as/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [In real everyday life, I don't walk around feeling fat and if on TV I'm considered fat, honestly, I kind of like it, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kether-donohue/in-real-everyday-life-i-don-t-walk-around-feeling-fat-and-if-on-tv-i/) [Kether Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kether-donohue/) > [A body is a living entity. It represents life, freedom, sensuality, and it is a mechanism to carry out our thoughts. A body is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tunick/a-body-is-a-living-entity-it-represents-life-freedom-sensuality-and/) Spencer Tunick > [The female body is something that's so beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not diss other women for being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/the-female-body-is-something-that-s-so-beautiful-i-wish-women-would/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [Being beautiful doesn't mean that you have: Beautiful eyes Beautiful lips Beautiful hair Beautiful body Being beautiful means that you have: White heart Caring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amjed-alaa/being-beautiful-doesn-t-mean-that-you-have-beautiful-eyes-beautiful/) [AMJED ALAA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amjed-alaa/) > [The body of a beautiful woman is not made for love; it is too exquisite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/the-body-of-a-beautiful-woman-is-not-made-for-love-it-is-too-exquisite/) [Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/) > [“Mother, of course, takes a lot of exercise, walks and so on. And every morning she puts on a pair of black silk drawers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/mother-of-course-takes-a-lot-of-exercise-walks-and-so-on-and-every/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [I think that each women, whatever age, needs to recognise something good in her body. Someone has beautiful legs, someone has beautiful hair, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/i-think-that-each-women-whatever-age-needs-to-recognise-something/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [The female body is a beautiful thing, and it should be embraced and celebrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-ratajkowski/the-female-body-is-a-beautiful-thing-and-it-should-be-embraced-and/) [Emily Ratajkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-ratajkowski/) > [My body is beautiful and sacred, and I'm going to celebrate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie-2/my-body-is-beautiful-and-sacred-and-i-m-going-to-celebrate-it/) [India.Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie-2/) > [A well trained body is a beautiful instrument on which to play the melody of the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/a-well-trained-body-is-a-beautiful-instrument-on-which-to-play-the/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) ## More by Justina Chen Headley > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There must be a few times in life when you stand at a precipice of a decision. When you know there will forever be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/there-must-be-a-few-times-in-life-when-you-stand-at-a-precipice-of-a/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“North-ish." A pause, and then: "Is that Terra for I'm lost-ish?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/north-ish-a-pause-and-then-is-that-terra-for-i-m-lost-ish/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“But the truly brilliant geocachers?" "Yeah?" he says. "What about us?" "They know it by its real name. Terra Firma." "Terra Firma," he repeats.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/but-the-truly-brilliant-geocachers-yeah-he-says-what-about-us-they/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“I understood now: how nothing looked more beautiful than that scar of his, that borderline that separated what Jacob could have been had he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/i-understood-now-how-nothing-looked-more-beautiful-than-that-scar-of/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“Its as if God cruised through one of those Chinese fast-food buffets and bought Abe the full meal dealso he can pass for Mama's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/its-as-if-god-cruised-through-one-of-those-chinese-fast-food-buffets/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“I'm making art. Terra”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/i-m-making-art-terra/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“By the time I slip back to my room, it's almost six. Jasmine is in bed, awake and waiting for me..."Where were you?" Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/by-the-time-i-slip-back-to-my-room-it-s-almost-six-jasmine-is-in-bed/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“I didn't have the language to communicate that to this little girl -- or to communicate that beauty -- real everlasting beauty -- lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/i-didn-t-have-the-language-to-communicate-that-to-this-little-girl-or/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“Without looking at Jacob, I said slowly, 'Well, it seeps into you. It doesn't make you forget yourself, but totally the opposite.' I chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/without-looking-at-jacob-i-said-slowly-well-it-seeps-into-you-it/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There is a time to study a map passionately, obsessively. To see where you’ve gone, where others have gone before you. To commit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/there-is-a-time-to-study-a-map-passionately-obsessively-to-see-where-2/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“Maybe that was the problem," Jacob said softly. "Don't we all need to feel needed? That we'd be missed if we were gone?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/maybe-that-was-the-problem-jacob-said-softly-don-t-we-all-need-to/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“I took her hand in mine, not the way I used to hold hers as a child, but with our fingers woven together. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/i-took-her-hand-in-mine-not-the-way-i-used-to-hold-hers-as-a-child/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“Progress is hard on history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/progress-is-hard-on-history/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“Ever the collector of treasure maps that promised the world but led nowhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/ever-the-collector-of-treasure-maps-that-promised-the-world-but-led/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) [Explore all 19 Justina Chen Headley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is beautiful,\" I said, ignoring the shop window to trace the gleaming stone walls fronting another boutique. \"You know what's funny?\" Jacob asked. He didn't wait for my answer. \"You can see beauty in everything, except for yourself.\" *** I swallowed hard. Erik thought my body was beautiful, Karin that it was enviable. At random times, people had noted that my hands were beautiful, or my hair. The Twisted Sisters had called my art beautiful. Mom had the best intentions and always told me before and after my laser surgeries that I would be beautiful. 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