Am I beautiful?

There comes a day where childish innocence succumbs to the pressures of adulthood. Where dreams become foolish and differences are taboo. To survive this cruel transition, one must make determinations of self. Career alignment assessments, personality tests, and other evaluations can facilitate this self-discovery. Yet, youth is unsupported in discovering one great unknown: Am I beautiful?

To determine one’s own beauty, it must first be decided what beauty is. In a generic definition, beauty is the presence of an aesthetically pleasing quality. Beauty, no doubt, is a positive trait to most. Beautiful people seem to be cherished and complimented. Is it not expected for curious youth to, therefore, compare themselves to those they are told are attractive? Should a young person look to others, they are then faced with several more unknowns.

Money and beauty are entangled in a peculiar affair. Historically, many cultures espoused a belief that blood should be kept “pure” and bred incestuously for this conviction; deformities became common among these aristocrats. By popular opinion, deformities do not increase one’s likelihood of being beautiful. Despite this, there are accounts of the aesthetically pleasing qualities of the rich of the past. Forward to the modern day, it seems more wealthy individuals are considered beautiful. Enter an unknown: Can beauty be bought? The wealthy can afford finer clothes, hair care, wigs, makeup, plastic surgery, and other enhancers. Has an admiration of the rich transformed the concept of beauty to that of which is only attainable at great price?

This great price may extend beyond money and to effort itself. One quickly learns pictures show a single version of the truth. Even so, it is difficult for any mind to scrutinize a photo for deception. Applications and programs can drastically alter one’s appearance and skilled artists can use makeup as effectively as a mask. CGI models are arriving in the mainstream, further bringing into question another unknown: Is beauty natural?

Unfazed by the current standard of beauty, some deviate from society’s norms while still receiving praise. They are admired and commended for not only how they look, but how they behave. Here one may realize that those aligning with mainstream beauty have something in common with those mentioned above: Confidence. Shameless, proud, fierce, and bold, they believe themselves to be beautiful. If beauty is to be besieged, they are the conquerers. An unknown presents itself, calling into question if beauty is a state of physicality or a state of mind: Is beauty a decision?

If one looks up from the hoards of same-faced photos altered by technique and technology, something curious can be found. All around, people smile with each other. Elderly couples, well past their aesthetic prime, ignore a poster of a perfect CGI model to gaze into each other’s eyes. Parents lovingly wipe food from their children’s messy faces. Best friends hold each other when tears must escape. Beauty is the presence of an aesthetically pleasing quality. Is it not with great pleasure one see’s a loved one? Some, in time, may come upon an unknown which allows everyone to be beautiful: Am I beautiful because I am loved?