He knelt at her feet with the glass slipper.  They were both beaming as he gently stood and kissed her hand.  All her life she was ridiculed and hated, her beauty hidden.  Sophia was knocked down all the time, but Sophia sung her way through life like bouncing on each key of the piano to make a beautiful song that would once be told forever.   She was little when her step mother became her mother, and she was happy to help around the house.  Sometimes she had the help of some friends, not the mice and birds, but the maids’ daughters.  They loved to work with Sophia; it always made the wretched day of working go by faster.  When word came that a suitor was coming to see her step sister, she decided it was her chance to leave.  She wasn't supposed to outshine her step sister while he was here, she was to be a slave.  Sophia was to meet his every need.  Her only hope was the dress she had hidden; it was blue, with crisp white lace.  It fit everything perfectly: her charm, her personality, and her brains.  She arrived at the ball happy, but it seemed as if she was being stared at.  She had never been told she was beautiful, and she couldn’t convince herself of it either.  She was greeted by many, and she hoped she wouldn’t be recognized out of her tattered old clothing.  She was asked to dance a stroke before midnight; he was handsome, charming, and humble. They talked and danced the night away, and all her worries were left behind.
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You know the rest of the story, she loses the slipper, the prince finds her, they get married, and it is a happily ever after fairy tale.  We will never know the full story, but people say she wasn’t actually the most beautiful person there; at least not in looks; she was the most beautiful in character, intelligence, and nature there that night.  She was humble, and she may not have known that, but the prince saw that in her.  Her inner beauty shone brighter than the outer beauty.  We need to know not everyone that is loved is flawless, they have all made mistakes.  They might not be the prettiest, but they might have the most admired quality in them that someone loves.  This leads to the fairy tale ending and the fantasies of fairies and magic.  It leads to the true love, soul mates, and love at first sight.  Many people miss the point of humans.  We our social animals, we need each other.  We often conform to society; they tell us women are supposed to be skinny, unmarked, and radiant.  Men are supposed to be strong, emotionless, and bold.  What happened to women becoming doctors, and dads becoming stay at home dads? What happened to look at the inner grace and qualities of everyone? We are so worried about what other people think, but what about what you think?
You’re pretty in every way, whether you think so or not.  We all have something unique and someone who loves us out in the world.  It might take us a while to find them, they might not be what we expected, but every mark and flaw we have is a mark that makes us more admirable.  I’ve heard that insults to others are really just insecurities we find in ourselves, shoved off to others.  It is said that we must accept ourselves before anyone else will accept us.  We need to accept ourselves because we all are beautiful in our own special ways.