'Perfect'?

Perfect. It's a phrase we use very loosely and very often in today's society. We open up magazines and go 'wow she's perfect', we scroll through our Instagram feeds and think 'I wish I could be her, she's perfect'. But does 'perfect' really exist? Why have we as a society labelled what we think is 'perfect'?

Society today has been constructed around this idea of 'perfect' but perfect does not exist. Photoshop exists. Filter exist. Makeup exists. But perfect doesn't. The 'perfect' that we all know is a construction. Apart from surgery, fake tan, makeup and all that jazz, there is very little that we as human beings can do to change our bodies and the way we look. How we look, although it is superficial, has a huge impact on our lives. For the past few centuries we have defined beauty, not just as health and youth but also as tall, slim figures with perfectly toned tummies, long shiny hair, perfectly clear skin and tanned, smooth, glowing legs. These are the sorts of things that we see in magazines and adverts. When in real life have you ever seen someone that has absolutely flawless skin with no pores, scarring, freckles or imperfections? When? Never. 

Every human being to walk this earth has imperfections. Whether it may be acne, freckles, cellulite, wrinkles, stretch marks or scars, everyone has something. But what I think has gone wrong is that girls look at women in magazines and adverts with their flawless, poreless skin, then go look in the mirror and see fault in everything they see on themselves. Yes, we all have days when we feel a bit crappy and down about our appearances sometimes, I definitely do, but what we look like doesn't define who we are as people. You could have the bubbliest, happiest personality out of everyone and you may have a few spots or squint teeth and see yourself as 'ugly' or 'not good enough' because you don't look 'perfect'. Your looks do not define who you are. Although it may feel like it, looks aren't everything.

Let me tell you now, as cringey and cliché as it may sound, we are all beautiful. We need to learn to accept our flaws and turn them into positives. It's quite ironic really because it is us as a society that have created these problems but it is us as a society that have created the idea of 'perfect'.Who's to say that having acne, messy hair and braces doesn't make you beautiful? What is any less beautiful about that girl that just walked by you in the street with cellulite and yellow teeth than a model that has been airbrushed beyond belief? The way I see it is that imperfections are okay. It's okay not to look like a model that you've seen in magazines, 9 times out of 10 that model will have been photoshopped within an inch of her life and in real life has imperfections, just like you. We want to see the real people, the people behind the layers of photoshopping. We want to see the imperfections. We don't want to see a skincare product in a magazine and only see an airbrushed, edited photo of the lady's face, not showing if the product actually does anything at all. We want real images. Not constructions.

There is no such thing as perfect. How can you even define someone or something as 'perfect'? 'Perfect' could be defined in many ways, whether it may be a size 16 or a size 6; small breasts or large breasts; long hair or short hair. 'Perfect' could be anything. But, I have one question. Why did we, as a society decide that models that are 6"2, have tiny waists and poreless skin are 'perfect'? Why did we, as a society decide that stretch marks, acne, squint teeth or large noses are 'ugly'? Why? 

You are beautiful. Whether you may think it or not, you are. It's okay to be different, it's okay to have imperfections, it's okay not to look like a model. You're you and you are beautiful and amazing just the way you are.