Is a perfect appearance seen in only that of the plastic variety?

"Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways." ~Samuel McChord Crothers

Don't judge a book by its cover may be one of the most overused phrases. Or its at least up there with "why did the chicken cross the road." I realize that the phrase is saying before you decide to dismiss another person based upon their appearance you should instead get to know "what's inside" just as you shouldn't judge an actual book by its cover because the story inside may pleasantly surprise you. The thing is though I do judge books by their covers and yes I mean actual books and I also judge people by their appearance. For instance a person who looks physically in shape is more appealing than one who is not. It's because people who are in shape and workout on a regular basis exude more confidence and without saying anything they seem to give off the impression that they care about and love themselves and because they accept themselves they will accept you. Whereas someone who is a little "softer," usually does not exude that confidence and spark. A larger person gives off the impression that they don't care enough about themselves to exercise and because of this low level of self esteem they are not able to accept others because they have yet to accept themselves. Now I'm not hating on bigger people, because I used to be bigger. When I was little I was always a bit bigger than the other kids, never obese mind you but just enough that I was self conscious about my appearance. It may have had something to do with my protruding gut and chubby cheeks. Even at the tender age of 6 I was almost too embarrassed to go outside at my own birthday party because of my bathing suit and everything that stuck out of it. I knew all of my skinny friends would be outside and I would look like a whale comparatively. Regardless I went outside and had as good of a time as I could while pining to look like they did; long and lean. This fascination with being slim never really went away. In middle school I would work out to the point of passing out. Though I never starved myself, or regurgitated my meals I was unhealthily trying to lose weight to look like everyone else in the world. From a young age though I was always my own person but society and the media got to me. My friends and family never judged me for it but I felt as if the rest of the world was. I think image obsession has taken the world over though. From laser hair removal, to gastric bypass surgery, to tummy tucks, to over processed hair, to steroids, to teeth whitening, to implants, to weight loss supplements I think it's safe to say that we are all obsessed with appearance. The thing is though bulimia, anorexia and purging are all mental disorders. How sad is it that the media and society are literally giving people mental disorders? More than anything though it is just sick.


I think talking about personal appearance is a sensitive subject for any human being. We are constantly bombarded with perfection on TV; whether it be airbrushed models or dazzling pearly whites on a toothpaste ad. Though we have come to accept that these images are computer generated we never cease wondering why we cant all look like that and why perfection is so impossible to reach. The thing is whether we realize it or not every one of us will always strive for physical perfection and the only thing we can really do is just accept that as human beings we are imperfect and that god made us each different and unique for a reason.