Why Audrey Hepburn?

Audrey Hepburn.

Over the past few weeks, we've been asked multiple times why Audrey Hepburn was chosen as the source of inspiration for this challenge. 

Our answer to this has been quite simple: Audrey Hepburn represents a movement of self-empowerment. She is quite decidedly her own. She is smart, poised, and -- in a word -- fabulous.

So that's the cliche answer. 

But the reason why Audrey Hepburn is the perfect depiction of self-worth goes a lot deeper than that.

Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium and, due to her parents' occupations, grew up under the harsh conditions set by the Holocaust; however, Audrey was a fighter. When little girls dreamed of becoming ballerinas for the twirling and soft lights, Miss Hepburn joined the ballet to raise money for the "Dutch Resistance."

And her life was not easy. During WWII, she was so malnourished that eating anything of substance was a foreign concept. Her body was the type of broken that makes our hearts ache... but, instead of letting that experience cripple her, she turned around and dedicated the rest of her life to helping UNICEF -- an organization whose opening line is "Donate to End the Preventable Deaths of Children."

Audrey Hepburn represents something quite beautiful -- and not one part of why she was chosen has anything to do with the way she looks.

"I believe in pink. I believe laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles."

"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

"People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone."