What is Beauty?

      Happy Saturday! So tonight is my school's prom, and I'm super excited! Even though I don't have a date, I think I'm going to have a ton of fun with my friends. So whenever I was little and I thought of prom, I thought of girls with the most beautiful dresses and make-up and hair and I just couldn't wait until I looked like them. Well, the time has come and I definitely still don't look like the girls I imagined, nor do I look like most of the girls who go to prom today. Most teenage girls (so it seems) have these perfect bodies that aren't supposed to exist in real life. They actually look like models, and I have more than just a few flaws.
       It got me thinking about what beauty is. Like actually, how do you know if you are considered beautiful? Of course, most girls are told by their parents that they're beautiful, but what truly defines someone as beautiful? Is it how big your boobs are? Is it how flat or stomach is, or how shiny and perfectly straight your hair is? What about how long your legs are, or how white your teeth are? Women alter their bodies so much every day; whether it's just putting on make-up or wearing high heels, or if it's getting a boob job or a nose job, women do their best to conform to what society tells them is beautiful. I'm not saying I'm going to stop shaving my legs, but honestly even shaving is conforming to what society wants, because having leg hair is natural. Otherwise, we wouldn't have it in the first place.
       Why do we do this to ourselves? Is it in order to impress men? Is it for ourselves? I feel like that's what should be the right answer: for ourselves. But lately I've been thinking that if I had it my way, I would just wear sweatpants and comb my hair. So why do women do so much to make sure they look pretty enough, when most guys wear the same shirt for a week and don't even touch their hair? It's simply not fair! If you're reading this: please know that you are beautiful, exactly as you are. People envy so many things about you. You possess talents that other people recognize, but you might not. It's so hard sometimes to tell yourself that you're beautiful, when society is constantly telling you otherwise, but you must believe it. Loving yourself is the first step to happiness.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke