A look at How I Look

They say that beauty is only skin-deep. But why is it though, that the good-looking people seem to get all the advantages? And how can I cope with all the pressure to dress and look like those gorgeous girls? I don’t like the way I look! Well few of us are entirely satisfied with our own appearance. Unlike Narcissus who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water. But for us we fall into depression when we see our reflection. I think I don’t look so good! I don’t like my hair, the way it looks from the others. To make matters worse, our appearance change so rapidly that we sometimes ‘feel like strangers in our own body.’ Thus, sometimes I fret about my own face, hair and figure. “Everything has made pretty in its time” And how I look can indeed have a profound effect upon the way others view and treat me. “Body image is a part on self-image.” For me this can affect my self-confidence and what I do and don’t in life. A healthy concern about my appearance thus makes good sense. However, when I find myself become so self-conscious that I withdraw from others or feel bad about myself, and then such concern is no longer healthy, that I do sometimes. Interestingly, distress over personal appearance is not always due to real physical defects. From a situation like this: a slender girl sits in the class wishing she was heavier, while on the next aisle, a buxom girl laments how “fat” she is. From where does this dissatisfaction come? What made me think that they’re unattractive? Was it their size that may not be as fit as the sexiest celebrity or maybe they might not have the fine-looking face? “Adolescence is a period of transition in which major reorganization of the body takes place…” To deal with the awkwardness of a new and changing body I rely upon the security of my peers. But under their scrutiny on how tall, short, fat or thin they are, can become a great source of anxiety. And when some of my friends get more attention than me or when I am chided about my looks, I can easily begin to feel bad about myself. But before I will admit that I’m an ugly duckling, I’ll ask myself first, to what extent of my physical flaws are real or imagined. Is this facial feature I fret about really so unattractive? Or have others pressured me into thinking this? “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould”, a proverb says. There is thus no reason to feel depressed because I do not look like a TV or magazine model. Nor are my peers the final judges on how tall, short or slim I must be to look attractive. I am comfortable with how I look and I should give other people a heed. Ironically, the very thing I dislike about my looks may be the source of someone else’s envy. “Charm may be false, prettiness may be vain.”