Seventeen years of life is an extremely short period of time but in my lifetime I have come to the conclusion that as human beings appearances are a major factor. Appearances are what are seen from only our eyes, the outside of an individual. I cannot believe how physical appearances distinguish numerous aspects of human life. Judgment based on looks is so cruel and unnecessary but I honestly admit I have judged a stranger based on their appearance. As teenagers we tend to be even more critical on appearances. The pressure received as youth to be slender, popular and beautiful is unreal. In order to be accepted others look at beauty. When I am around teenagers I witness attractive males and females and see that they only talk to one another. I admit that the first stranger I would go up and talk to is an attractive one. I do not bully or make an individual feel ugly and when I witness bullying based on looks it really troubles me. I have heard girls talk about flaws like eyes being to far apart or chubby cheeks. Facial features are a part of an individual that cannot be changed and to judge others based on these features is unreasonable and horrible.
I completely understand why the youth is so focused on beauty because look at our media. Magazine covers, television, movies and models are all based on appearances. The individuals on television or on magazine covers look a Barbie. Photo shop takes away any flaws and makes models into the most beautiful individuals imaginable. Those images are put into the heads of humans as reality and that is what we look for in strangers. Beauty in the outside is far from the most important part in life. In my personal experiences the less physically beautiful friends I have are the truer friends. I need to stop judging others by their appearances and just get to know who they are in the inside. Appearances are probably the smallest portion of who an individual is. The important parts of an individual are qualities like kindness, compassion, and love that differ amongst humans but combine to create love, and relationships.
If the world stopped focusing on beauty, there would be more happiness amongst humans. I know couples that are model gorgeous but they do not have a happy marriage because their marriage was based on looks. My parents married for love and not beauty and have been happily married for years. Personalities and connections in interests is what creates strong relationships. Individuals forget to look past the physical and miss out on life. I understand that talking about not judging on looks is easy for me to say and I am not saying I won’t ever judge on looks again or not care about my looks. My parents always told me that you learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others. Judgment of strangers based on appearances is a mistake and I am choosing to learn from this mistake and not make the same mistake myself.
