It makes me sad to think that there are so many people who are unable to see the beauty within themselves because mainstream media tells us that we have to look a particular way and wear a particular type of clothes and have a particular body type. In my own way I subscribe to it as well. But what is beauty?
Beauty is a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. So beauty really is in theeye of the beholder. What is beautiful is a personal choice, because only you can see it. If you look in the mirror and don’t see something beautiful, it means that you have let tv, mazagines, and the internet take hold of your life so much that you can’t even allow yourself to see that you are absolutely beautiful.
I don’t have the words to express how angry and sad that makes me feel... and at the same time I have to be sad for myself and angry at myself for in many ways I have falling prey to that trap. I see so much beauty every day in people that would not necessarily be considered beautiful by society’s standards. But I still see beauty…
I see genuine smiles, caring hearts, empathy and love. But because he or she might not be what is ideal to grace the cover of a magazine, I should not refer to them as beautiful. I shake my head in shame at society, myself included, for allowing the thoughts of the few to influence many, and like sheep we just accept what has become the status quo.
You are beautiful my friends, each and every one of you! But in order for all of you to see it, you have to start with yourselves… No sweetheart, you don’t fit into size zero jeans. No bro, your teeth aren’t perfect. Does this make you not beautiful?...
There is no prototype for beauty, it is in what you choose to see and acknowledge. Choose to see the beauty in yourself, choose to see the beauty in others, and I promise you that you will have such a rich interior life that society’s standards will no longer concern you. Only then will you be able to say “I am beautiful”.
