"You're so pretty!"

"You look great in that dress!"

"You literally have the best figure in this room!"

And so on.

Being raised in a world where standards of beauty are dynamic, and highly regarded, it is easy to doubt oneself and question what beauty really means. As young girls, we all have sat down on our beds, flipped through a magazine, and gushed over how pretty a model or actress looked in the spread. We have tried to imitate them. We have tried to be them. And in that quest, we have forgotten who we really are, or what we are really striving for.

Are good looks all that we are in search of?

Growing up in the age of social media, our aim to post our pictures on the set themes or our color coded Instagram profiles, was to sometimes get that confidence boost from people's "likes" or comments about how stunning we look, or how amazing that dress looks on us. Some of us also got bullied because of those pictures, or how maybe our body wasn't "perfect" in them.

Growing up some more and going on dates, and having boys compliment us either mostly, or only, on our looks, seemed fine at first. Nobody really noticed the effect it had on us. But as we matured, and realized what is going on in the world, it was not too late when we actually got tired; tired of being complimented, or even bullied, on the basis of how we look.

The way we look has a lot to do with, well, genes. We were born that way. And there is pride in that. We do not deserve to be shunned or raised on a pedestal because of how we look. It is just the surface. This body is just a gift- wrap to the present that lies beneath. Our soul. Our personality. Our mind.

Even men face similar issues. Rejection, appreciation, honor, or privilege based on their looks, has led to loss of self-confidence and frustration in everyone around the world. Being judged, in any way, because of one's looks, happens irregardless of a person's race, sex, or religion. Everyone struggles due to this. Some struggle more than others, but that does not mean that we haven't been a witness to it, or aren't a part of that struggle.

Being rational human beings, we need to be evaluated and selected for jobs, or any other positions, based on our performance. And that is why I truly appreciate the concept of "blind auditions" and other such methods of evaluating a person. Even in personal lives, we are just so much more than how we look. Every person has so much to bring the table, and I think that it is truly what matters the most.

I want to be appreciated for who I am. If someone finds me interesting, I want them to say it. I don't want compliments based on my looks. I want you to see my soul, my mind, and my personality. I also want to be criticized on the basis of my work and my efforts. I am going to look the way I look. What I can improve is my work, and my deeds. And that is what matters to me.