People say that the most beautiful things in this world are those that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Why, then, do we focus primarily on what we can physically observe?

What if we had actual blind dates? As in, throughout the date, the two individuals would literally be blindfolded. Putting aside factors such as safety, I think that this would be a wonderful way to truly get to know someone. We would have to use other clues to discover who they are and what they are passionate about. I wish that physical appearance was not the first thing we saw about a person. The way we look has almost nothing to do with our interior yet we often correlate the two.

Physical attractiveness stereotype is a phenomenon that permeates our society. It is the notion that those who have good looks must also have other desirable qualities such as a fantastic sense of humor, intelligence, and charm. We equate beauty with success and happiness. I think that there is nothing wrong with appreciating outer beauty. However, the problem arises when physical attractiveness is put on a pedestal and paid more attention to than inner characteristics.

From my experiences, there is a lopsided level of support for image as opposed to character. Social media is not the best example, but it is relevant because of how well infused it is with the way of life of most millennials. When I post something on social media, I notice a variety of effects. I find that whenever I post a picture of myself looking alright, people “support” me in the form of likes or comments much more significantly than if I post an article I wrote or write about how I am starting a new organization on campus. I think that the reason why might simply be laziness because it is much easier to look at a picture for a second than to read through a status or article. On the other hand, I think that this is just one example of the ridiculous focus on outer appearance.

For the most part, our physicality is predetermined by our genes. Aside from several changes we can make with a healthy diet, exercise, or even make up, we have no control over the way we look. Yet, somehow, our appearance plays a major role in our identity and how people perceive us. Looks cannot express much about you. Appearances are so thin, like tissue; there is no substance to them. The fact that they can be altered so that you can go from skater boy to business man through a change of clothes and a slick comb over, proves how empty they are. In my opinion, physical appearance is just the cherry on top of your shining personality. Everything that is really important is just below it. The only connection I see between an individual’s actual identity and their appearance are signs of their ethnicity. For example, someone with a sweet dusting of freckles on their nose might be Scottish and that might factor into the person that they really are.

I believe the whole idea of beauty is corrupt nowadays. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, why is there still somewhat of a societal consensus on what is beautiful and what isn’t? Society has edited and photoshopped the ideal image of beauty. It’s harmful for individuals who see this limited illustration of attractiveness and feel awful for not fitting into the tight frame. It’s also problematic for relationships because people begin to desire a sort of physicality that rarely exists. Good looks are overly prioritized and those who do not have the stereotypical version of beauty are not given enough attention. Collectively, we need to take more time to fully appreciate qualities which are harder to see. Personally, if anyone is going to notice me whether that is in relation to friendship or romance, I want it to be because of my personality, my actions, my beliefs. Those are the fibers that fabricate each individual, not whether or not they have perfect eyebrows or a thigh gap.

I believe we need to take three steps back and rediscover what natural beauty is. I think beauty is a cloud of milk in dark espresso. A genuine smile shared between strangers. An old song belted out completely off key. A personality as warm as wool.

I hope that we can learn to equally acknowledge the worth of physical appearance and inner characteristics. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a personality has the value of billions.