In our Language
class, we were shown by our teacher a video called “Comfortable”. I would like
to share it with you before making any comments.
When was the
last time you actually felt comfortable in your own skin? Can you remember? Have
you ever felt that you are not adequate enough? When was the last time that you
did not feel tainted by the ideal body that the media suggests? Have you ever
been rejected because of your size your weight or height? How did you feel? After
watching the video I feel like asking the world and myself is: WHAT HAS
HAPPENED TO US (or to me whatsoever)?
When I was a
kid, I was never asked “If you could change one thing in your body, what would
that be?” since everyone took for granted that it was odd for a kid to even
think about that. Kids only think about playing with their friends and they do
not even care where their friends come from, what kind of clothes they wear,
what color their skin is or how tall, thin or beautiful they are. They just
play with them! They just think about FEELING great and not LOOKING great. We have
so much to learn from children, don’t we? However, we grow up and it is the
other way about. We just think about the way we look over the way we feel. Some
people even risk their physical welfare undergoing hazardous plastic surgeries
so as to change a physical aspect of their body that they dislike.
Going back to
the questions above.. Can we remember the last time that we actually felt
comfortable in our own skin? And if we do not feel comfortable, is it because
we feel tempted to fit a certain model of what “beauty” is? Do we really need
to alter a certain part of our body in order to suit society’s notions of
beauty? Personally, I don’t think so. I know it is not easy to live in a
society where only blondes with light-blue eyes get the better jobs, among
other things. However, even though it may sound cheesy or a cliché, there is
more than what meets the eye.
When I turned
12, I asked my mum if she thought I was beautiful. Probably most mums believe
they’ve got the most beautiful and smartest children in the world. My mum is a
very down-to-earth woman so she does not believe that. I remember her nicely replying:
“You are beautiful from the inside, and that is what matters the most”. I have
to admit that I was disappointed and upset back then. Nonetheless, almost 12
years after that episode, I understand and appreciate my mum’s advice and I
admit that it makes much more sense than my question. I strongly believe that
we need to work on ourselves as children, as friends, as love partners, as
employees and employers, as students and teachers; to sum up: as individuals
self. To put it in other words, if there is something in your body that you
would like to change for YOURSELF, then do it! I just believe that we shouldn’t
change (not physically nor our personality aspects) just to please somebody
else.
Once my
therapist told me: “How do you expect to be loved and accepted if you do not
love and accept yourself?”. We all have flaws and NO ONE is perfect. If we
learn to accept that, and to deal with our weaknesses as well with our strengths
and to feel comfortable with the way we are, people will also accept us for the
way we are, and they will not even take into consideration the way we look.
It is not an
easy task to love and accept yourself the way you are living in a society where
outer beauty is more important than inner beauty. However, think about it in
this way: How do you want to be remembered? As the person who underwent 58
plastic surgeries, used expensive face creams and spent her/his entire salary on
fancy clothes so as to call people´s attention or as a devoted parent and
friend and loving and giving person? IT’S UP TO YOU!
