mirror mirror on the wall...
In a recent Yale study it was shown that 9 out of 10 students answered that "beauty is on the inside."
At first glance one would think society is trully stepping over it's original physical barriers, however, how many of these students look in the mirror everyday and pick out their imperfections? My argument was originally prepared to be towards those who care so much about their appearance that they put down others, but I've decided this would be better suited to be directed towards those who criticize themselves.
There is a certain yearning in society to be physically attractive. Looking in the mirror daily to pick out our imperfections and tear ourselves apart for our genes. A student doesn't want self confidence in their ability to excel academically, a student wants self confidence in the form of appearance. Despite what anyone tells them, they will continue to be unsatisfied with what they see, because mankind tends to demand a god-like perfection from themselves.
This isn't a rant on the latest fashions, it's an inquisition about why we cannot find happiness within ourselves. It's been my experience that no matter how beautiful a person may be naturally, they still allow themselves to smother make-up across their face to satisfy their own eyes. Why have our own eyes turned on us? Compliments and outside attention aren't enough. People want what they see in other people for themselves. This isn't only from magazine covers and movie stars, it's from their peers. It's from their friend that eats a lot and stays skinny, it's from the girl that doesn't wear make-up and looks better than most others, or from that vibrant girl who gets all the attention from the guys without showing her entire body. It's a self destructive cycle that leads to the depression of teenagers. The cure, however, is not to change yourself to become what someone else is. The only solution is to find your own strong points. Everyone has a feature that is exceptionally beautiful, why not exploit it? Make others jealous of YOUR beautiful eyes, rather than change your waist size to be like that girl that sits next to you in math. Teenagers aren't being ripped apart by the media, their peers aren't making fun of them, they're their only enemy.
At first glance one would think society is trully stepping over it's original physical barriers, however, how many of these students look in the mirror everyday and pick out their imperfections? My argument was originally prepared to be towards those who care so much about their appearance that they put down others, but I've decided this would be better suited to be directed towards those who criticize themselves.
There is a certain yearning in society to be physically attractive. Looking in the mirror daily to pick out our imperfections and tear ourselves apart for our genes. A student doesn't want self confidence in their ability to excel academically, a student wants self confidence in the form of appearance. Despite what anyone tells them, they will continue to be unsatisfied with what they see, because mankind tends to demand a god-like perfection from themselves.
This isn't a rant on the latest fashions, it's an inquisition about why we cannot find happiness within ourselves. It's been my experience that no matter how beautiful a person may be naturally, they still allow themselves to smother make-up across their face to satisfy their own eyes. Why have our own eyes turned on us? Compliments and outside attention aren't enough. People want what they see in other people for themselves. This isn't only from magazine covers and movie stars, it's from their peers. It's from their friend that eats a lot and stays skinny, it's from the girl that doesn't wear make-up and looks better than most others, or from that vibrant girl who gets all the attention from the guys without showing her entire body. It's a self destructive cycle that leads to the depression of teenagers. The cure, however, is not to change yourself to become what someone else is. The only solution is to find your own strong points. Everyone has a feature that is exceptionally beautiful, why not exploit it? Make others jealous of YOUR beautiful eyes, rather than change your waist size to be like that girl that sits next to you in math. Teenagers aren't being ripped apart by the media, their peers aren't making fun of them, they're their only enemy.