MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
“Don’t tell me I’m beautiful. I have already heard the word rubbed raw across the flesh of so many girls before me. Thrown at them like rocks that beat the skin of those we do not understand. “You are beautiful,” we yell with such contempt. “God dammit, why won’t you just believe me, you’re beautiful!” It is not a compliment. It is a victory march of your own self sacrifice. “You’re beautiful,” we say through gritted teeth. “You’re beautiful,” we spit out through tears, looking at a reflection we hate. “You’re beautiful,” we say, holding a body that has never felt the arms of another. “You’re beautiful.” Don’t tell me I’m beautiful. A word like that floats on the surface, give me something with depth. Tell me I’m intelligent. Tell me I’m courageous. Tell me that when I laugh the whole world smiles. Tell me that my voice is sweeter than strawberries. Remind me that my hands have helped flowers grow, painted the ocean, and captured the sky in my phone. Assure me that with a mind like mine, I can change the world. Don’t tell me I’m beautiful. I don’t really care if it’s true. I’ve spent years trying to convince myself that beauty goes through and through. Don’t tell me I’m beautiful. I’ve felt the world splatter against me enough for a lifetime. I am better than the “beautiful” that slips from your lips. I am the ocean, 36,000 feet deep. There are parts of me you have never seen. I am outer space, infinite in your search. I am not simply “beautiful”. I’m a masterpiece.”
The above is a favorite quote of mine I found from “tumblr”. This speaks to me on a variety of levels. Being a woman in today’s society, (whatever the age made be), there is this expectation of beauty. Although there are sayings and kind phrases from loved ones stating, “you’re beautiful in your own way”, the way modern society functions, said phrases aren’t exactly promoted. Women are often seen as weak, inferior, and objects for men to use to their pleasure. I am an incredibly strong supporter of the concept of feminism and the belief that women should be treated equally as men, in whatever aspect that may be.
Coming from this notion of feminism, a very common and desired compliment used is the phrase, “you are beautiful”. Girls from incredibly young ages have this goal in their mind influenced by the world around them of beauty. It has always been a shared dream. This poem, or excerpt, goes against that entire perception. It brings other wonderful qualities in a female’s life to view. Intelligence, wit, kind heartedness, joy, braveness, creativity, and etc. These often fall in the shadows of the goal of appearances. All looks diminish eventually, we grow older and wiser, and what’s left behind are the elements that count. Your fear, values, heartbreaks, dreams, loves, experiences, are the very origin of your nature. How you appear won’t ever give so much as a hint to your true colors.
I try my best to remember this in times where I feel insecure, beauty is only skin deep. It is a used, shallow, underrated word, and I think our generation often forgets that. This is why that piece of writing is an addition to my personal philosophy in life.
