Who I am is the best I can be- Leontyne Price
After my event last night, I got to thinking about my perception of beauty.
I grew up in Laguna Hills, maybe 10 minutes away from Laguna Beach, home of the now famous MTV reality series. Caucasians were the majority and my hero was Christie Brinkley, Jem, and Sheera. In fact, me and my friend Lindsey used to pretend we were super models and I remember picking Christie just because she had that "all American" look. I grew up thinking that you would be deemed as chop liver UNLESS you were a super hot white chick. Watching the Miss. USA or Miss. Universe pageants didn't really help either!
I wanted to be a super model and have that wicked fast paced lifestyle. To travel around the world and wear clothing by well known designers would be a dream come true, but I never felt like I fit the mold. That's when I started deconstructing my self esteem and picking at every little flaw of mine. This consisted of, "Oh man, my thighs are getting thick and I have a flat butt".... Or: "My eyes are way too small and my ears stick out too much, why?" It got worse after 7th grade and during high school because that's when I started comparing my looks to other people.
There is nothing new about girls practically killing themselves to become the stick skinny model they see on the runway or undergoing plastic surgery to look like a lifesize Barbie Doll (google Heidi Montag). It's just becoming so sad and apparent. Maybe we should instill image/self confidence presentations in our schools? By educating kids that it's OK to be who you are verses a carbon copy of some famous starlet will help them learn to accept themselves and hopefully prevent issues in the future. Everyone has their own opinion of what is beautiful... So regardless of what the media is putting out there, flaunt what you have and remember to shake what your mama gave you!
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