Let's admit it. We all have felt the pressure or the need to look "good" in front of people. All in favor, say "aye". (Everyone should've said "aye", if you didn't then I have a great deal of respect for you.) But why? Why do we feel like we have to? Does our outside beauty really matter?

I think the first time I ever started thinking about 'looks' and getting self-concious was in 2nd grade, when we still thought Barbies were cool. Blond, skinny, 'beautiful', Barbie. Then, I kept beauty in the back of my mind, and slowly I got more and more into it. I wanted to be what I thought was beautiful. Like Barbie, at the time I was 7. At 10, I remember flipping through a teen magazine, and going completely ga-ga over ads of makeup. The models always looked so beautiful, whether it was Maybelline foundation or CoverGirl lipstick. At around the same time, I was looking through People, and I saw the skinny celebrites and told myself I was going to be just like them when I got older.

I became hopelessly obsessed, trying to look my best every single day. How sad, I think to myself now that I look back. I started this when I was so young!

The society-they are basically the ones who tell us what is 'pretty' and what is 'ugly'. They expect everyone to have a flawless face, no blemishes or freckles. Voluminous hair with lots of shine. Some people do make a living off of beauty, such as freelance makeup artists, and that's okay. Just don't let it take over your life. Let's tell society-forget the face. Forget the body. Realize who we are. Inside.

Of course I mean personality, not guts and bones. You can be 'pretty' on the outside, but at the end of the day, is that what matters? Looking like a doll? No way! What matters is who you really are. Not the front you put up to impress other people. Not the fact that you look like what no one will ever be. Who you are. Your family. Your friends. You.

So many, if not all, of us are self-concious about the way we look. Obviously, it is human nature to want what we don't have. But we take some many things for granted. My language arts teacher, he asks us, "What if, what if you acted as if everything was a miracle?" Why can't we all just do that? (Oh jeez, I'm starting to get hypocritical. Realize that I do obsess over my looks too.) So what if you have a pimple? Who cares?

So, I am challenging you, the reader, and me, to realize everything is a miracle, and forget the looks. Be YOU.