Shine

Shine! Wow, I cannot even express how excited I am by this program. We have just finished our second session and already, the girls are having a blast and connecting with us and each other.

Session one was an intro to the program and a lesson on nail care. In addition to getting to paint their nails, the girls learned about what nails say about our health and how to keep them healthy. They also learned about hands and how very valuable they are as a part of our body. The girls had a blast giving and receiving hand massages and getting their nails painted. I don’t know how often these girls get to be pampered but I think they definitely felt that way…I think the endless smiles and laughing proved that. We definitely had a good time with them too…even though it meant I had to paint nails. I felt bad for Lisa who fell victim to having me as the painter…luckily someone relieved me of my duties. I don’t know why I can paint my own nails but when it comes to painting others, I cannot paint within the lines no matter how hard I try.

Last night was our make-up session. The girls were even more excited about this session because some of them have NEVER worn make-up before. I think that is amazing because really, they are so beautiful without it but it was fascinating how little they knew about it. Nicky started the session with an activity to show them how each of them were unique. One girl signed her name while others tried to copy it…no one could. The lesson: everyone is unique and we should not try to copy others because we are the only us. I loved watching the girls as this was being explained because their faces lit up. One girl in particular had a huge smile on her face when she was told that she is valuable because she is unique. Other girls were nodding in agreement. Karissa led the session and read quotes from Audrey Hepburn about internal beauty…one stated, "And the beauty of a woman, with passing years only grows!" When asked what they thought that meant, one girl said that the beauty inside grows….Yup!

The rest of the session focused on taking care of our skin and keeping it healthy. We ended the session with actually getting to apply the make-up. Even though the session went almost an hour past our scheduled ending time, the girls were so into it. I even got to help out by putting eye shadow on one of the girls!

It was definitely a new experience for most of them and they seemed a little uncomfortable at first but once we started taking pictures, their confidence peaked and they wanted to get their pictures taken.

Next week we will be getting more in depth and I am excited for the transformations that will take place over the next seven weeks!