Beautiful people

Every year, People Magazine publishes a list of the most beautiful people in the world. Sometimes there are new faces, other times faces stay on that list for years and years. There is no doubt that the people who make the beautiful people list truly are beautiful. Of course, when looking at the list of names and faces, they are all celebrities. What about the beautiful people who aren’t as well known? Sure, they can’t be voted on because they aren’t known to the world, but that isn’t the point.

When I was a little girl, I wanted so desperately to look like the beautiful people that I saw in movies and on television. I’d look through magazines and compare myself, noticing how they wore their hair or the styles of clothing they had on. I just wanted to look like someone other than me. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a pathetic looking child. In fact, I was the opposite. I spent some time as a child model, but still envied others that I saw. As the years rolled on, I lost interest in modeling and found myself in those awkward teenage years. I longed to someday be on the most beautiful people list, but knew that was not a reality I’d ever see. I couldn’t help but wonder what those people thought about being on that list.

What bothers me now, is looking back and realized how much I wanted to be like those beautiful people. I didn’t look at myself as being beautiful. My daughter is growing up looking at these skinny role models that are in the news, on tv and in movies. That’s not always beautiful. In fact, that’s not always even normal. If I had a million dollars, I’d be skinny too. I’d spend all of my time exercising and focusing on my looks because I wouldn’t have to worry about all of my everyday chores. Sometimes, the beauty that we admire about others might have been surgically created. Other times, beautiful people are just born that way. Our children need to know that who we are should not focus on our appearances. Sometimes beautiful people are more beautiful on the inside than the outside. However, do our children grasp that concept? Do they look at photos of celebrities and think that they’ll never compare? Do they long to be skinny like their role models who think that eating is evil? They probably do yearn for
those beautiful people’s lifestyles. I don’t. I’m trying to teach my daughter that being herself and feeling good inside of her own skin is what makes beauty. She doubted that for a long time, but she seems to be catching on. I wish that other parents would do the same.