Beauty Through My Eyes

Written November 18th 2003 for my Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Course in High School.

 Many people have tried to define beauty. Although a beautician may seem like the first person to consult about beauty, they should be a last resort. Beauticians are fueled by the modern ideas of what is in stlye and have conformed to the belief that beauty lies in one's looks. In fact "Ideal beauty is a mirage (Loren)". Real beauty starts on the inside and works its way outward. Beauty is truly self-made.
       Every person is born with the ability to believe they are beautiful. A lot of us "grew up without being reinforced about how beautiful or smart we were (Hunt)". Most chances of this idea blossoming are eliminated, having been shot down  by sexist stereotypes that say women are the weaker sex, or that men must be macho. Both genders need to realize that personal hygiene and taking care of their bodies does not fall into those sterotypes. As womenwe have the right to be beautiful, and men have just as much of a right to be beautiful rather than handsome. We as individuals have the right to believe we are beautiful and "to accept and love ourselves [themselves] more completely from within (Hunt)". We also need to recognize this right and take advantage of it.
       What is beauty you say? Well, it is uniqueness, the ability to accept and love ourselves just the way we are, and the confidence to ignore negative comments about our looks. When I was younger I was always teased about being a giant because I was the tallest girl. They also nicknamed me "ghosty" beacuse I was eerily pale and attended an inner city public school. Looking back I can see how silly it was to let them bother me and to actually believe them. Insults can hurt but they should not affect how anyone would percieve themselves, true beauty is not just good intent. It is a mindset that can be achieved by taking care of our bodies and accepting them as nature intended them to be, in their separate and unique forms. Attaining such a mindset is the first step and is it also the most difficult, once you are confident the rest is only the aftermath. Choosing clothed that accent our unique body shapes and compliment the qualities genetics have supplied us, or maybe putting on a little make-up or even styling hair a particular way: those things should be done after you already feel beautiful. They are "enhancements, not essentials (Loren)", they do not create beauty. A woman can apply as much make-up as she desires, have the best clothes, and be done up to near-perfection and appear to the world to be the most gorgeous girl. Sadly, it all means absolutely nothing if she is not convinced herself that she is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.
       Beauty is not only contentment with what we can not change about ourselves, but also to have the confidence to take pride in showing off our best features. There are things we can change to do this. Instead of throwing on any old thing that happens to fall out of the closet, wear something flatteringly fitting to your personality. Most articles of clothing can be arranged in a way to compliment your body and your mind. It helps gives you self satisfaction, knowing that you are comfortable in your clothes. It also helps give you the confidence to get dressed in the dark some day when you're running late maybe because you slept in. If you truly believe that you are beautiful then you can even pull that off if it happens.
       Unfortunately, women have become their own toughest critics in todays Society. This can be heathy to a point, but that point has been surpassed time and time again because "the ideal of beauty is administered as a form of self-oppression (Sontag)." Always attempting to achieve perfection will not get a person very far in life because perfection is in the eye of the beholder. Once, during the morning routine before applying make-up or brushing your teeth, take a good strong look in the mirror. Watch the person staring back at you and ask yourself, "Do I love this person staring back into my own eyes?" and if not; "Why not?". Many people will reply that they do indeed love themselves to an extent but have a mile long list of things they would like to change about their appearance. "Women are taught to see their bodies in part (Sontag)", but beauty is "more than a list of features (Loren)". It is how the composition comes together as a whole. If you love yourself it will be apparent that you are unique because only you have that specific combination of body parts. A plastic nose would be an intrusion, nearly interchangable with the likeness of millions of other women who got nose jobs. Men have plastic surgery done too, such as silicon inserts to make their muscles look bigger like a wrestling action figure. Do you really want to become like an automobile with replaceable parts and factory made one-shape-fits-all appeal?
       Even if it is not quite as drastic as plastic surgery, half-heartedly applying layers of make-up and playing dress up will rarely make you feel like anything more than a hollow doll. If you do this all you life and don't have the inner confidence to back it up you become just another face in the crowd, caked with make-up. Men who alter themselves to appear more manly are just another "one of the guys", a blank face in the multitude of guys striving to be macho. There positively, absolutely must be some kind of self confidence behind that smile to make it real. After that, beauty will be seen behind the eyes in the mind of the individual. Like little stars or specks of light shining through that those around you will pick up on, no matter how gradually.
        Almost like a positive vibe. Everyone can pick up on strong negative vibes; they tell us when someone is upset, distraught, or plainly pissed off. Our natural human instincts tell us to stay away because that kind of an attitude is repulsive. Positivism has the opposite affect, it attracts people. They sense and see that you are comfortable with yourself, so they would like to be around you. Eventually your self confidence will eminate and be percieved as blossoming beauty. True beauty is when you see yourself in a positive light so it is up to each and every individual to determine whether or not we are beautiful. Some women may insist that silicon breasts would give their self confidence that extra boost so they can feel better about themselves, but that is their peroggative. In my opinion, cosmetic "corrections" will not make people beautiful in any form because they are not real, just hand tailored materials to suit the whim of the vain.
       Beauty is a real thing. Although it can not be seen by the naked eye it can be sensed and in many cases it is also measured. Each individual deserves to have the right to accept themselves for who they are. Their differences and their similarities to others. We all have the God-given right to free will, the will to feel beautiful. A true conviction of confident, self-realized beauty can only start within. As long as an individual honestly believes that they are beautiful, it will be true !