Beauty generally refers to what’s on the outside. But so much of beauty has to do with how you feel on the inside. We spend a lot of time focusing on the outside, but we’d like to devote a week to talking about self-esteem.

Here at FutureDerm, we want to hear your stories. So, from March 4-8, we’ll be having a Self Esteem Week on the site, where we talk about what’s important on the inside and how that relates to our perception of the outside. We’ll share our own stories, but we also want to hear yours.

We’d like our readers to write essays about beauty self-esteem hurdles you’ve overcome. How you went from being self-critical to recognizing your own beauty. Feel free to get creative. We’ll be accepting essay submissions, due February 26 by 11:59 p.m. We’ll put selective quotes from each essay on the blog. We’ll post the top essays on the blog and send the writers a special prize.

To submit an essay, send it to Natalie@FutureDerm.com with the subject line “Self Esteem Week Essay.” We look forwarding to reading what you have to say!