More Than My Looks
May 18, 2020
Alexandra Wade

Every day, as I walk down the street, I see the way people are looking at me. How I capture the attention of strangers based on the way I look. I see how they notice my physical characteristics – my bright eyes, my tanned skin, my smile. However, as much as I appreciate the compliments, I more than just my appearance. By seeing me only for my looks, I feel many people miss the woman, the person that I am. I have so much to offer but feel that because of my looks people overlook it. As a result, I constantly feel like I have to prove myself to others, proving that I am more than my appearance; that I have more to offer. I want people to start taking me seriously and understand that I am more than just my looks.

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I probably just seem like a big whine to you. You probably ask yourself what do I have to complain about. After all, in today’s world, in which social media plays a central role, appearance is something many desire. So, I should be happy, shouldn’t I? I should be happy and stop complaining. See, as I said, I appreciate and am thankful for the compliments and my looks, however, I wish the way others viewed it would be different. I don’t want people to only see me as my looks and not even try to get to know me. I don’t want others to judge me based on my appearance, something that happens to me almost every single day. But what can I do to change that?

I believe that to change that, we have to start at the very beginning. Since childhood, girls are taught to prioritize their looks above all else. In Snow White, for example, the evil stepmother was so obsessed with being the most beautiful woman that she poisoned Snow White. We teach girls from a young age that they light up and giggle when someone comments on their beauty. We make them believe that being called pretty is enough when they are so much more than that. Their strength and power, their minds and souls, they aren’t pretty, but remarkable. By calling a girl pretty, you are giving her a wide definition of the complex being that she is. Pretty is a word with little to no meaning.

via Pexels

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