You Could Be Prettier...
A few weeks ago, in a haste to finish shooting the few several episodes of the show on time, we had to literally shoot for a whole week. I had to sit around for about an hour every morning during that week to get my makeup done. Our freelance makeup artist was such a lovely middle-aged woman. Being older than me, she started giving me advice on various things. Then she paid attention to my face and said: "You're pretty, but you could be prettier if you got a nose job...and some eyes surgery."
Now at that point, I was not mad or upset by what she said at all. I knew she meant well, and she really cared about me. She said when I became famous, I should get my nose done to become even more famous. I didn't say anything because I respected her opinion. But that got me thinking: what has our society done to young people, especially young women? Are we reinforcing the idea that you have to look perfect to lead a happy and successful life? According to the Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, no wonder seventy million individuals worldwide suffer from eating disorders. Not only that, but the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery's 2010 cosmetic procedures survey stated that in 2010, Americans spent 10,677,415,674 US Dollars on cosmetic procedures.
I love every one of my features, not because they are perfect, but because I got them from my parents. When I look in the mirror, I don't see an imperfect face, but I see my mother's features. I see her nose, her eyes and her dimples. My mother is the most beautiful person to me because of her extraordinary strength and captivating heart. When I see the reflection in the mirror, I hope that one day, I can achieve the graceful beauty, the unconditional love, the unlimited kindness and the fire in her eyes. So I have absolutely no reason to be ashamed of who I am and how I look because my mother shows me that love is unconditional and it is, indeed, blind. When you love someone unconditionally, how they look ceases to be relevant. Beauty is, after all, in the eyes of the beholder.
I know loving yourself the way you are is easier said than done. But throughout the years, I've found out that people are just impossible to please. I've been called too skinny, too fat, too dark, too pale, short, too quiet, too outspoken, too shy, too brave... And yes, I know it hurts. I've said it before and I'll say it again: those who love you and care about you, they won't care about stuff like that. Those who do, they aren't worth your time. Life is too short to surround yourself with people who make you feel bad about yourself. We're all unique and beautiful in our own way. Why let society decide that there's only one type of "beauty"? Perception is reality and in my perception, I believe that everyone of us is beautifully imperfect.
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I can understand those numbers, though. Growing up, I was a typical teenage girl; I was insecure, I spent hours in front of the mirror and scrutinized every flaw, I hated myself, I wish I was someone else, I wish I was perfect. I wanted to be tall, to have blond hair and blue eyes -- society's idea of what "beautiful" means. I looked at the magazines and saw "beautiful" people that I could never be like. Needless to say, I'm Asian. I could never be like that. I was devastated by that fact. I was only thirteen.
Gradually, I grew up and I learned a lot of lessons along the way. I became wiser and I learned to love myself the way I am. Having been through everything that I've been through, I learned to accept myself the way I am. Right now, at age eighteen, if I could change any feature of myself, I would say I don't want to change anything at all. That's not to say that I think I'm perfect. That's far from it. I know full well that I have a lot of flaws. But I love each and every one of my flaw, simply because they make me unique -- they make me Catherine. If every one of us was perfect, then we would all be the same. Every scar that I have represents all the falls, fights and what has happened in this beautiful life of mine. I have a scar of my lip that was caused by my dog, Scraby. She's gone now and every time I look in the mirror and see that scar, it reminds me of the love that I'll always have for her. I have a scar on my right knee and that was because I fell down from my bike. I still remember my first taste of freedom when I see it. All the lines upon my face are from the laughter, and the tears that got me to where I am today. Each imperfection I have makes me who I am today.
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With that being said, however, I respect other people's opinion when it comes to plastic surgery. I do realize that some people want to change some of the features to feel better about themselves. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Regardless, if you have plastic surgery in a quest for perfection, that's quite an impossible mission. Does it matter what other people think of you? Shouldn't the only opinion that matters is yours? Self-confidence is beautiful. Learn to appreciate what you have right now and love yourself the way you are. Although, the only surgeries that I agree with are sex-change operations and reconstructive surgery.
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Love, Catherine
XOXO
Love it! Although we both support and encourage natural beauty, we have no rights to tell people how they should look :) They are welcome to change any parts of their body without being judged. If it can boost their confidence and self-esteem, why not?
ReplyDeleteYet, hope they think twice before deciding to change what mother nature gave them. Plastic surgery is a double-faced blade! If it doesn't hurt you, it will definitely make you stronger :D
Exactly. I don't encourage it, but if my friends want to do it, I'll still stand by them. However, generally, when people feel like they need to change a part of themselves, the problem is usually psychological -- it goes a little bit deeper than just changing something. It's like if you have an infection and you only put the bandage on the wound, it's not going to go away. It might make it better for a while, but there's also a chance that it will come back. But back to the point, people are different, different things make people happy, and we need to appreciate those differences.
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