Beauty.
It is a noun that pertains to the positive and stunning things in life, yet despite its positive connotation, it has become detrimental to females who are criticized for “not being beautiful”. As a girl who experiences insecurities, I often feel as though I’m not fulfilling the standards society has set for me. Such insecurities have been experienced by many youth and –evidently– have decreased youths’ confidence in themselves. To meet the standards of society and cure the insecurities that standards create, many teens use makeup and other forms of cosmetics to live up to such standards and are still criticized, as demonstrated in this video. The issue raised through such an idea is, how can we learn to be confident in ourselves despite society’s unrealistic expectations? The answer is quite simple: realize what beauty is to you.
It is quite unrealistic to say that everyone is perfect, however, everyone is beautiful in their own ways. The ability to realize that being perfect and being beautiful are two different things is vital to accepting yourself. I often find, with my friends, that many people are extreme perfectionists; they strive too much to cure the negatives while the positives are ignored. Finding balance between realizing that you have areas to improve in and recognizing your positives assists in achieving harmony between confidence and self driven progression. By recognizing your negatives, you can set achievable goals to improve yourself (such as exercising everyday to lose weight or washing your face more thoroughly to reduce pimples) and stride towards being the you that you want to be.
So… How can I accept myself and find this balance? There are many things that you can do to find your own positives and redefine your perception of yourself. One thing you can do is “have another person take a photo of you” as blogger Ailin says. When taking a selfie, you can adjust the lighting, angle, etc. but when someone else snaps a quick picture of you, you are seeing yourself as others are perceiving you. I, personally, hate having others take photos of me, however, allowing others to take photos of me and seeing myself through a different lens has influenced the way I look at myself. Just by looking in the mirror, you may also find parts of your face or body you like. Such characteristics can also be a source of confidence, and, when applying makeup, one can emphasize the beauty of these parts.
Using these tips, one can find a new way to view oneself, improving and cherishing one’s beauty. Using the words of many, I remind you that you are beautiful.