Newsflash: nobody is perfect, no matter what you see on the exterior.

I bring this up because I recently overheard a girl rate another on a scale of 1-10 -- ‘a solid 7 or 8’. This was based solely on physical appearance, which struck me as a very shallow, harsh thing to say about someone.

It’s 2017. Why are we still stuck on the idea that women need to resemble porcelain dolls in order to be attractive? Not only that, since when is it OK to tell other women that they are not meeting these standards?

It’s human nature to be judgmental on occasion, and beauty is such a subjective topic. However, this does not make it OK to openly criticize other girls for things that you think they could be doing differently. My main issue with this mindset is that girls know how hard it can be to live up to such high standards. Flawless skin, long hair, toned legs, flat stomach. Does this ring a bell? Yes, these are all things that probably you’ve longed for at some point -- and not all of us have them. Attractiveness is not something that should be measured on a quantitative scale. I was appalled to know these ‘ratings’ are still used in a serious context -- that should have been left in middle school, if you ask me.

To everyone who still picks apart other people for their ‘flaws’: stop it.

I put ‘flaws’ in quotations because there’s no clear definition of imperfections. Maybe that girl with a very athletic body wishes she was a little less toned; someone else would kill to look like that. Perhaps the girl with perfectly tanned skin wants a less intense skin tone; another girl pays ridiculous money for that same look. It’s all about perspective, ladies. Think about that the next time you outwardly tell someone that they could afford to drop a few, or learn how to do their makeup a bit better. How would you feel if someone reinforced your own insecurities? Aren't you already consumed with your own thoughts about how you could look or feel better? That's what I thought.

At the end of the day, it's all about how you feel when you look in the mirror. If you're not happy with yourself, change it or embrace it. Either way, do not ever tell another girl that she's not a 'perfect 10'. I can guarantee you that she already feels that way about herself, and doing so will not help the cause. We're all in this together.