According to Dictionary.com, to have beauty means to “possess qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind.” It is a word that describes the totality of a person, appreciating many details about them. So, then, how did this once empowering and inspiring word turn into such a “taboo” concept? Why is it that the word alone is intimidating for woman to think about?
I believe that it starts with how society has embraced this seemingly unrealistic perception of beauty. Now, the word beauty stands in for a woman who has Kylie Jenner’s lips, Cara Delevigne’s body, Zooey Deschanel’s eyes, and Angelina Jolie’s face—a crazily unrealistic idea.
In part, we do it to ourselves. Women put so much pressure on themselves to look a certain way based strictly off of what they see. Think about it, how often do you see an attractive girl walking past you, and you automatically are comparing yourself to her. She has nicer legs, or better hair, or wears nicer clothes. By constantly competing with this other girl, you are actually destroying all that makes you amazing. Or lets say it was the opposite, you think that you’re way prettier than her, she’s inferior to you, that is still causing some major damage to not only your insecurities but her self esteem as well. If you’re constantly competing with those around you, you are putting way too much pressure on yourself to be perfect. A perfection that does not exist.
Instead of judging and comparing, we should be asking ourselves what makes us feel beautiful. Is it waking up every morning and doing your hair and makeup? Then awesome, wake up and get ready because you want to feel confident and beautiful for yourself, not to impress others. Or maybe it's listening to "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera on repeat in your car on the way to work. Then by all means sing along to it. Or maybe it’s being with a group of your friends and taking endless selfies. Always embrace what makes you feel beautiful, and do it for yourself, no one else.
The only way we can start to create a change, and use the word beautiful without necessarily implying that you are only worth your appearance, is to encourage each other. Us girls can make a huge difference by making the effort to uplift each other instead of judge.
Because the truth is, we are all beautiful in our own way. Beauty has much more to its definition than the outward appearance that we see. We are all beautiful, and it's time we start acknowledging it. It takes so little to compliment someone, or brighten their day. We can make a difference. We have the power to bring beauty back to being a compliment, and not a stab at someone’s insecurities.
