By: Tuulia Koponen

Staff Writer

A mirror can be a haunting device when we aren’t satisfied by what it reflects back at us. But a mirror can only show us our outside appearance, not what’s on the inside.

Limited to seeing what we look like on the outside, we believe that who we are, our value, is based on what the mirror reflects back at us.

We rarely find a flawless image of perfectly tan skin, luscious hair, make-up, perfectly-shaven legs and a thin body reflected back at us – society’s image of “perfect”. We all want to fit this image so badly that when we fall short, we feel worthless. We all want perfection and go to insane heights to obtain it.

I used to be one of those girls too – constantly applying loads of mascara and straightening my hair to be a even a fraction of perfect.

However, beauty can’t possibly be based on the outside of a human being like society pressures us to think. It is so much more. Attractiveness may be based on outwards appearance, but true beauty is most definitely not.

I realized I was beginning to turn into somebody else, and I didn’t like that ‘someone else’ I was becoming and longed to be myself again.

I befriended girls who may not have been the most physically attractive, but were extremely attractive on the inside. I consider these girls the real pretty girls because they have kind souls and spirits and when you see them truly happy, smiling and laughing, you see just how beautiful they are. That’s when you see true beauty and a beautiful girl.

The same thing applies for boys.

There are real handsome boys with their kind personalities and again, though they may not be the most physically attractive guys, when you see them smile you realize just how handsome these boys are.

True happiness leads to real beauty and can be seen when someone is really and truly enjoying being him or herself.

If I see someone being a kind and caring soul, I find myself being drawn to them regardless of whether they are physically attractive or not. All I see is a beautiful person. I see a beautiful person based on actions and words, not appearance.

My eyes now constantly search to see a beautiful person based on their actions, not their hairstyle, and my ears listen for one by their words.

After my experience as a little girl, I’ve learned to not care for what someone looks on the outside, but on how they treat me, and more importantly, others.

Society’s representation of beauty is disgusting. Do not let the reflection in the mirror determine who you are, because there is so much more to beauty than meets the eye.

To be yourself you don’t need perfectly tan skin, luscious hair, make-up, perfectly-shaven legs and a thin body. In other words you don’t have to be the “perfect” mold to be yourself.

There should be no shame in not being society’s perfect image. By not giving in to this pressure, you are being you, your own individual, which is all you should ever really have to be. Life is way more fun when you be yourself rather than waste time chasing perfection.

Every little thing in your appearance that may appear as a flaw is really just a part of what makes you, you.

And as Audrey Hepburn states “Beauty is imperfection” therefore, there should be no shame in being your imperfect self because that is beautiful and that is you.