Many times the first thing I will see when I log on to my Facebook or my Tumblr account is a post assuring every girl in the world that “You are beautiful,” or “Beauty comes in every shape and size!” Not once do I see a post telling me “You are intelligent!” or “You are going to be successful!” I mean sure, they might occur every now and again, but if they do it’s not nearly as much.

The first thing that pops into someone’s mind when they are asked about their dream girl or dream guy is the shape of their body, the color of their eyes, or the attractiveness of their smile. Not many people will immediately yell out that they want someone intelligent, someone who loves books, someone who writes them poetry, or someone who simply treats them with compassion. Sure, those things eventually come to mind too. But they are usually not what come to mind first.

Why are we a society so obsessed with physical appearance that we seem to let it overshadow the other, more important aspects of people? Why is it so difficult for us to look past the surface and see who a person truly is without their appearance getting in the way? Why do we constantly encourage people that they are beautiful, but never point out their more important qualities just because they are not as easily noticed?

I would love it if we could live in a world where appearance was a bonus, only secondary to the characteristics that truly make a person who they are. People could capture our attention not because of how they look but because of the book their reading, the sound of their laugh, the focus they keep in a conversation, or the way that they treat others. You wouldn’t need to have a stunning appearance to attract people to you, because there would be so many other things about you that would draw people in instead.

There is so much more to being attractive than your appearance, and there is not enough emphasis put on this fact. I don’t want to hear that I am beautiful. I want to be given a compliment about something that truly matters, and I want to live in a world where more people realize that there is more to beauty than meets the eye.