Venezuelan Plus-Size Model Reveals How To Feel Confident And Bella!

Editor’s Note: This is an exclusive piece by Jennifer Barreto-Leyva for Pulso POP. She’s a Venezuelan plus-size top model, TV host, lawyer and journalist. She’s also Editor in Chief of Belleza XL Magazine, Miss Universe Plus 2007, and currently the only Latina competing for the crown of Miss World Plus with the possibility to win a Guinness record. Barreto-Leyva recently made headlines for challenging Dominican singer Romeo Santos to work together in the future. The outcome of the proposal can be read here.

5 Tips to be confident and beautiful in your own skin

Jennifer is a famed Venezuelan plus-size model. (Photo: Courtesy of Jennifer Barreto-Leyva)

1) Understand and accept who you are: Women, but especially Latinas, carry on from an early age with the idea to imitate or look like celebrities. Wrong, wrong, wrong. We have to understand we are unique, we can’t look like anyone but ourselves. Don’t imitate people or celebs, stand up for who you are! #NoApologies.

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2) Make the mirror your best friend: A mirror, for many women, is kind of like an enemy; a monster that shows us nothing but ugliness. Guess what? If you feel ugly, no matter what you do –diet or surgeries– the feeling will not disappear, no matter what the “gurus” says. I’m telling you nothing but the truth.

3) Focus on the positive: Yes, that’s right. Focus first on the positive. Loving yourself is a never-ending process, a daily dose of love for you and from you. If you focus only on all your flaws, the journey will be terrible with a goal impossible to achieve. Be nice with yourself.

Did you know, according to recent studies, that 10 of every 10 women hurt themselves in every possible way just because they don’t like what they see?

The statistic are horrific, but it’s the truth. Have you heard the nasty comments your girlfriends do when they see other girls? There you have it! Once you start loving and embracing your qualities, you can obtain a positive light with your image, little by little. Nobody is waiting for you, so take your time.

4) Follow Shakira’s advice: Remember Shakira’s hit song “Ciega, loca y sordomuda”? That jam is one of my better tools to not go crazy with all the criticism out there, especially for being a plus-size celebrity model. Those people who are unhappy with themselves are the ones who tend to point out the flaws of others. These people have self-esteem issues and wish to inflict them on others. Does the word troll seem familiar to you? When these mean trolls approach you, you must understand that they are people with a hurt soul. On your behalf, you just have to act like Shakira in her song: don’t listen or pay attention to them . Remember: cuckoo, blind and deaf.

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5) Look like yourself, always: Something very, very hard to understand due to the pressure from the media 24/7 is that 99.9 percent of women in the media don’t have or portray a realistic, natural beauty. This “beautiful” women are under diets and surgeries all the time to not be excluded from the industry. Photos are modified with Photoshop and let’s face it, how many plus-sized Latino icons are out there? What kind of diversity is Latino media and worldwide media talking about? Hello, is the microphone on? Wake up call…everyone has flaws! Embrace them and repeat this to yourself a million times every day: I’m perfect and gorgeous because I am ME!