Unrealistic beauty standards are something I deal with on a daily basis. Society wants us to be a picture-perfect replica of some doll. We have to be smart, beautiful, funny, talented, fit, sociable, and so much more. It’s such a toxic environment to live in. I mean nowadays, it isn’t unusual to see how a young woman’s body standards can be so effortlessly influenced by outside elements. 

Ever see a girl scrolling through celebrities’ Insta pictures and hear them say, “They’re so perfect, I want to look just like her”? This situation occurs daily with teens and young women. Although some might believe this to be a naive comment, some truly want to change their appearances to delight society and their peers to be more desired and fit in better. 

This isn’t to confuse with wanting to better someone’s appearance for a positive reason, such as a healthy weight goal. The problem emerges when a girl wants to transform how she looks due to seeing unrealistic perfection or because of the constant pressure from society’s expectations of beauty. 

It is no secret that the beauty industry has given this expectation of looking flawless 24/7 to young women. We grow up seeing gorgeous makeup ads, beautiful magazine covers, and perfect looking hair, nails, body, etc. Yet, it’s understandable for a company to want beautiful models to market their products. It gives off unattainable beauty ideals. I know people who drove themselves insane just trying to fit in. I’ve seen people change their opinions in a second to match those around them. I’ve seen people break down over things they couldn’t control, wishing that they were just perfect. 

There is no such thing as a perfect body. The concept of perfection itself is flawed. There are only so many times I can say to people that we are all meant to be different. I mean, I could not picture living in a world where everyone looks identical. 

Society doesn’t always view it that way, however. They don’t want us to do anything that will draw attention to ourselves. They don’t want us to ever break the little mold we’ve been put in. If we ever do, if we ever speak out against anything or even just try to be ourselves, there’s practically chaos. Why? Because ordinary people don’t usually look how companies and social media portray women to be! If you don’t have the ideal body shape, that’s okay! If you don’t have voluminous hair, that’s okay! Everyone is unique in their way and should not change who they are because of what society believes to be “best.” 

Since social media is so apparent among young people, it worsens the conflict even more. Different types of apps allow filters, editing, etc. If a girl wants to improve her appearance online, she has the essentials to do so. This implies the idea of physically adjusting one’s appearance as well, whether it be through plastic surgery, fillers, etc. Of course, most celebrities do not like to acknowledge that they have used certain things to make their appearance seem better, but the girls viewing their content can easily think that “this is what perfection looks like, society likes this type and I want to obtain it too.” These sorts of thoughts usually make girls compare themselves to others, and that is not a healthy thing to do self-esteem wise. 

Fortunately, more and more companies are allowing diversity into their ads, and this gives off a very positive message to young women who do not always fit the “perfect body” or other types of standards that society has regarded to be “perfect.” Many people, including myself, admire these companies for their realistic models that look like the majority of people and not the small group of beauty and fashion models. 

You can recognize that there are so many different looks of being beautiful. One person’s ideal may not be someone else’s. Don’t be focused on pleasing everyone else. Our self-worth is so very often decided by others’ perceptions of them. That we forget that it’s okay to focus on ourselves! 

Self-love is very important for self-esteem and one’s mental health. Sometimes we’re so focused on small details, like always covering up your body …that they can take over our lives. Just be yourself, be happy with who you are, and everything else will fall into place. 

I, for one, am tired of hearing that differences are imperfections that should be changed. Instead, let’s show how people’s differences are just unique to everyone’s bodies and how it is exciting to live on a planet where every single living being has their own gorgeous qualities and features. That is a planet that I would much rather spend my days alive on! 

Just remember, “When you feel GOOD you LOOK GOOD!”