Insecurity. Low self esteem. Depression. These are all symptoms of what I like to call, modern American society. In a perfect world there would be no lack of pride attributed to a person who is “different” in some way. In different, this means that the individual doesn’t share the majority likeness, when in reality, the majority isn’t always the secure faction.
Television gives this country a low sense of self worth, by flashing images of “perfection” at us daily. We see that teenage girl with the tiny figure and the perfect skin and hair and we think that we are supposed to be that way. The reality is that any person on television goes through a series of “touchups” prior to filming. They don’t just roll out of bed looking perfect, there is a lot of work involved.
Mind you, there are natural beauties (both female and male), but they are few and far between, and the rest of us have to get up an extra hour in the morning to make ourselves look as close to perfect as we can. Well, I’ve shrugged off the life drama. I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to spend half of my life getting ready to go out. I’m not going to buy 20 different products to put on my hair, face, and body so that I can be a different, more important, person. I’ve been steadily coming to this point since college and now I’ve arrived. Makeup isn’t what makes me who I am.
To be truthful, I never wore heavy heavy makeup to begin with. Sure, in high school I followed the crowd and layered up the coverstick, liquid makeup, powder, etc., but I never went all out with the eyes and lips except for special occasions. In college, the only time I really did it up was on Friday nights to go to Gords, but those were the goth days, and you can’t be goth without pastie skin and thick black eyeliner. Now, I have enough trouble getting to work on time with just the shower, if I had a makeup routine, it would make me lose my job.
Getting back to the original point – Insecurity. I’ve known many people in my life who have been insecure, and it has been a difficult thing to overcome. Most recently I’ve spoken with an individual whose insecurity seems to have affected her entire life. She was unable to conquer this problem (mainly for the fact that she doesn’t realize that it is a problem) and it has steadily hurt her relationships and social situations. It seems like it is at the root of many other problems that she faces, yet there is no way to target it this late in the game. For this fact, it is important to let people know when you sense their insecurities. Helping a friend in need, makes you an important person. If you know someone with low self esteem, pay them a compliment and keep it up…you really can prevent depression if you try!
Peace –
Hippiegrrl