Operation Beautiful

Operation Beautiful started over a decade ago when Caitlyn Boyle decided to fight back against her meltdown in a public washroom. She left a sticky note that read "You're beautiful" on the mirror and blogged about it, asking if her readers would participate. And they did.

The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other people to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough... just the way you are! 

I was in a not-good headspace when I found a note in the grocery store almost 10 years ago and it was a turning point for me. When I tell people all the time that Hollywood Undead and Operation Beautiful saved me I'm not kidding, y'all. Whenever I start with the negative thoughts, I pull out my box of sticky notes and I start making Operation Beautiful notes to put up around the state. I never leave home without a stack of pre-made notes and I've actually become pretty well-known for them around the Kissimmee area. Although the original idea of Operation Beautiful was to leave anonymous notes in public spaces, I'm horrible at being sneaky. So I just own the fact that I leave little notes for people to find to hopefully make their days a little bit better.

This note was one of my very first notes and it stayed up at the dog park in Perry, GA for well over a month! The colour of the ink faded to a faint blue and the red hearts bled away in the first rain, but I became a fast fan of Post-It brand's super sticky line after seeing it stand up to all the Georgia elements.

Sonny's Barbecue in Perry, GA was a fan of my notes as well. They usually moved my notes to their order bar for them to enjoy. Feel that love!

Blogger Nicole from Sparkly Ever After found one of my notes at the beginning of the year at my local Starbucks where I'm "required" to leave a note or two according to the baristas. 

This was stuck on my Starbucks drive through yesterday. #operationbeautiful pic.twitter.com/adkVaszM0F

— Nicole (@SparklyNicole) January 20, 2019

Blogger Laurie from Work, Play, Chardonnay found one of my notes that I left recently(ish) at our local Whole Foods.

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As seen while grocery shopping. Sometimes the littlest notes from a stranger are enough to warm the ❤️. Spread the love. #operationbeautiful #beautiful #sayings #feelgood #feelgoodquotes #spreadthelove

A post shared by Laurie Gannon (@workplayandchardonnay) on Feb 24, 2019 at 3:49pm PST

The Publix in front of my complex makes a concentrated efforted to keep my notes up for as long as possible. I've caught a couple of them stopping new employees from taking them down and explaining "they're there to make people feel better" and my heart melts, y'all.

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Saw this random sticky note at my Publix this morning while shopping. Brought a smile to my face. Everyone should be reminded of this on a regular basis. #operationbeautiful

A post shared by Bill Christman (@fitnessbill) on Jan 23, 2019 at 7:10am PST

Not only does making these help me find my feet when I'm losing my footing, but when I learn that someone's found one of my notes and they've had their day turned around, even just for a moment, it feels amazing.
I've taken my notes all across three states and now that I live in Orlando, I post them in a lot of high tourist traffic areas, so I also post my notes in several languages. It's hard work, but I like it.
We're also supposed to do it anonymously, but I completely lack the subtlety gene. There is no subtlety here. I just slap it on the wall, display, mirror, post, whatever, in front of everybody. Just own it, right?

The official website for Operation Beautiful may be dead at the moment, but the movement's still going pretty strong. So, feel free to grab a pack of sticky notes and a pen and join in!

Until next time, darlings, have a happily ever after!