Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

We have all looked at magazines and seen the portrayal of the perfect man or woman, but is that necessarily the only perspective we should have? Every day, you come across average people with countless insecurities and it’s all because society says they aren’t good enough. Whether it’s changing the color of their hair or becoming part of a weight watching program people are constantly trying to conform themselves to receive acceptance. Media has ruined us. Daily it is pounded into our heads that we need to buy certain products to make us better people, but that’s only what they want you to believe. People have forgotten there is a deeper beauty than what lies on the surface, it is called personality, and that alone will get you much farther in the world than looks. Personality means everything when comparing it to appearance. The best way to look at it is where can life take you based strictly on appearance? Maybe you could become a famous supermodel, or if you’re talented enough, even a celebrity, but you have to realize the bigger picture.

Think about how many people there are in the world that are better looking than you and have connections to more important people, and then rethink your chances of becoming one of those professions. Is it a good chance? Most likely, it’s not. On the other hand, if you are smart, diligent and have morals you have a better chance in the world than an attractive person with an arrogant personality. A company or industry may not deny you based on looks, but they can deny you because you don’t have what their business is looking for. Negative side effects created by the media are everywhere. Women that idolize these models want to be just like them. Whether they attempt to walk in their footsteps, or starve themselves, it is unhealthy. These people are wasting away, and the worst part is, gender is no restriction anymore, because it’s not only females striving to look better.

It is estimated that 8 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, 7 million of those people being women and the other million being men.( “South Carolina Department of Mental Health.” Eating Disorder Statistics. N.P., N.D. Web. 13 Sept. 2014.) Slowly but surely, these people are killing themselves. Even celebrities suffer with eating disorders, because they are under constant pressure to appear “perfect” for the public. The blindfold that media holds over the average human being is incredible, do you think these celebrities appear as they do because they were born like that? Many of them have had help from dieticians, personal trainers, makeup artists, photographers and most importantly editors. Any magazine picture you see isn’t original. Those people in the Calvin Klein articles may be beautiful, but it’s not all natural. Any photograph you see has been altered, especially using airbrushing techniques and that statement alone should make you realize all people have flaws. The problem with today’s society is that people are constantly comparing themselves to someone else, but if it weren’t for television and other sources of media the issue wouldn’t be as relevant as it is today.

Before technology had a say in anything, there was more acceptance in the world. As an individual you shouldn’t be judged by what people see, but rather by what you bring to the table. Bottom line is everyone has a different view of what beautiful is. Not everyone thinks a girl that weighs one hundred pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes is beautiful. Neither is it always true that a jock is automatically considered better looking than a nerd. There are all different kinds of people in the world, and everyone was meant to be loved by someone. Always remember if looks are what’s stopping a person from loving you, they should be irrelevant to your life. In fact, if a person wants you to change in any way, shape or form they don’t deserve your presence. Be who you want to be, not what others want you to be.