Regarding the common phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Actress Salma Hayek once said, "the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder." Everyone in this world has the right to love themselves. No one should ever have to look in the mirror and fill their heads with a thousand things they wish they could change about themselves.
It is part of human nature to be insecure--one of the most dominant questions in our lives is, "what does he think about me? Does she like me? Do they think I'm cool?" Think about it. Have you ever walked into a room without asking yourself, "what do these people think about me?" When someone tells you you're ugly, a part of you will listen to it, even though all the other millions of cells in your body may shrug it off.
This is why bullying is becoming such a prominent issue in schools today. We always hear and talk about bullying in schools, but the stories related to the issue never cease to appall us. Last week, our school had an assembly in which several students shared their personal stories of their experiences with bullying. It shocked me to hear several of my classmates talk about the pain they went through, because at first glance I would have never guessed they had experienced something that horrible.
We have all been exposed to a form of bullying at some point in our lives. It could have been minor, it could have been long-lasting. But the pain was still real, the feeling of insecurity strong and intense. Especially among children and teenagers, who usually feel the most insecure about themselves, this issue has become a leading cause of suicide, self-harm, self-hatred, fear, and depression. Our childhood is the foundation for the rest of our lives--the things we see, hear, and experience go far into our future. Every child deserves to grow up knowing and hearing that they are beautiful and appreciated exactly the way they are. They need to be taught that they are meant to love and be loved at a young age, so that they can walk in confidence and help others around them do the same.
Yes, people need to stop bullying. But there is an easier solution. Instead of waiting for the bullies to stop bullying, we could change the way we view ourselves. The answer lies in our own attitudes. Complaining about how other people treat us is giving those people exactly what they want. They want attention; they want to feel good about themselves by putting other people lower. We have the power to not give them what they want. We have the power to love ourselves.
Even the most beautiful person in the universe worries about what others think about them when they walk into a room full of people. There's no point in wondering what that boy or that girl thinks about us, because that same boy or girl wonders what you think of them. What matters is what you think of yourself. The way you carry yourself has a big impact on the way you appear to other people. Don't shrink back. Stand tall, keep your head up, because there is nothing more attractive than a person who is sure of who they are. If you think you are beautiful, why does it matter if that boy or that girl doesn't?
No comments:
Post a Comment