Without Looking

More of an op-ed piece, but still....

Without even looking at you, I can tell you one thing. You, like every other living being in existence, are made up of cells and organic compounds made of six common elements that are necessary to life, essentially known as matter. I know I'm getting rather scientific, so bear with me, but all you really need to know is the first and last words of the sentence that preceded this one.

Read them again.

And again.

Read them as many times as you need to until you're repeating the words in your head like a mantra. Write them on sticky notes and tack them up on the bathroom mirror, on the scale, or anywhere around the house. Write yourself a little note with these words and stick it in a book you know you are going to read one day. Do whatever you have to do to in order to tell yourself these words until you believe them, because, while it may have taken me years to realize it, I have never encountered truer words than these. 

Essentially, each of us is made from the same components. True, some bodies don't work as well as others, and each looks different, but no alteration to our anatomy can change our basic chemical structure. DNA is what separates us all, and it seems frivolous that so many living, breathing, functioning people feel condemned because of minuscule differences in genetic coding. The human race is being divided and marginalized based on superficial values and aesthetics resulting in the "body hate" phenomena that has been occupying the minds of many people, particularly teenagers. 

Supposedly there is some unwritten standard of beauty, but no one seems to know much of where it came from; it just exists. It won't take much online browsing to find stories of people who give away their lives in order to look like something freshly printed out of Photoshop. It wasn't until I sat down to begin writing this piece that I've asked myself why I'm trying so hard to look a certain way when I  don't even know who believes that what I am trying to achieve is "beautiful". I found that the only reason why I want to change my appearance is because I want to look like those edited pictures, too. It sickens me that I, like many others, would consider starving and marking up my body so I could be up to some imaginary standard. 

You don't have to look like those models. You don't have to dye your hair or starve yourself or do anything to make you look "wealthy", "sexy", or like any adjective. The only thing you should be making an effort to look like is you. (If your style truly is what's popular or expensive or unusual, then by no means take my words as an indication that you shouldn't continue to look how you do.) Please don't misuse your time and body trying to be like someone else. 

The models in those touched up photographs are no better than you are. Their bodies and brains work the same way yours do, and they're made up of the same things. I believe this is why all humans are equal, no matter what they look, dress, or act like. I've discovered that there is no word or phrase in the English language to accurately describe how disgusted I am with the influence of media and outside sources trying to change perfectly imperfect people. No superficial trait should rank any person higher than another in any context. It doesn't matter what you weigh, how tall you are, how you feel comfortable dressing, how you do your hair, or how you identify yourself; you are most wonderful person you can look like just by looking like you. Whether you believe you take up too much space or don't wear enough makeup, you are better than those idealized standards.  Every human on this earth, from the models to the doctors to the everyday people, was made the same way, and there is no shame in being proud of who you really are, because, no matter who you are, you matter just as much.

Author's Note

Not sure if this is the final draft. Open to suggestions.

Reviews

[floraleverything]

I am actually in love with this piece. Surprisingly I don't think I've read anything else on this site about this particular subject, and its really one that can't be talked about enough. I like that you got personal with it.. its so straight forward too. Very effective style for something this important. Well done. I'd love to see some on other similar issues that are floating around unnecessarily. Keep it up!