True Beauty
Sitting through the presentation today about nutrition, weight control and diets, I realized how much of an emphasis is put on appearance in today’s society. Granted they were talking more about the health side of it, rather than the social factors, I still couldn’t help but think of how people are judged by their weight. Along with race, socioeconomic status, gender, and sexual orientation, the way you look is also considered when dating someone, making friends, even getting a job.
The first thing you notice about a person usually is how they look. How many times when describing someone to your friend have you just said, “Yeah, he’s so hot” or “She has the most amazing body.” I guess it is typical for a person to “judge a book by its cover”, but that doesn’t mean that it’s right. The stares, and looks of disgust towards larger people happen daily, like a natural reaction. It’s like the fear of the unknown, you don’t realize the problem until you have went through it, and believe me I have.
In high school I weighed approximately 215 pounds; I was a big girl. The dirty looks and insulting comments happened daily. The friends I had were few, and the nights I cried myself to sleep were many. I wasn’t told I was beautiful until I was 17. It seemed as if my weight controlled my life. I missed out on a lot of opportunities just because I was afraid of what others might say or do to me all based on how I looked. (going to the beach, playing sports etc.) I would’ve done anything to become what others thought was “beautiful”. And I did. I lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. The way I did it was everything but good to my health. At least when I was overweight I was in good health, but once I lost it, I began to have a lot of health issues. I think a lot of people look at being heavier, as being unhealthy, which in my case wasn’t true. I put my health in danger, and some of the things I lost, such as the ability to have children, will affect my life forever. I don’t think people realize how much of an impact appearance and weight can have on your life. The everyday glances, and remarks really do affect a person’s self-esteem.
I did this all, just like many do, to become an acceptable person to society. And I guess it worked in some ways. The awkward stares don’t happen much anymore, and the remarks aren’t made as often. Yet the memories of the past will always be there. I will never be “beautiful” and that’s because of the standards that society has set.
Society needs to stop setting the standards of beauty, and start realizing the true beauty in life. Maybe then people will stop judging based on appearance, and start accepting based on kindness of heart. Beauty to me isn’t a look anymore that I am trying to achieve, it’s a feeling I get on a daily basis, when I help a child read, give advice to a friend, or comfort someone in distress. The outside appearance of a person is what beauty is judged upon, yet I believe its just a cover up to someone’s true beauty.