Truth and Beauty

TRUTH & BEAUTY ESSAY- good copy                                             Brianna Lynn Dewaal

THE FACE OF FALSE BEAUTY
Beauty can be described in endless ways. Everyone possesses their own personal opinion as to what beauty is. It is through life experiences that we individually build those opinions. One might have opinions based on memories, a person or people, an event, an object, or even a certain time period that has made an impact on their perspective, creating a unique viewpoint. Therefore, there is no true single definition for beauty. As I progress through my high school career, I am faced with different aspects in what I see, my setting and the people around me that have shaped my realization of how beauty is perceived. However my unique viewpoint is constantly challenged and persuaded by an imposed standard that I feel I am forced to meet, and this standard is to be skinny and possess a flawless figure. Although, there are times when a different type of beauty can sneak through.

On a daily basis, teenagers are drawn to social media, which plays a big role in conceptualizing their views towards beauty. Sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr all portray traits and ideas that influence how beauty is defined by the teenage audience in changing their opinions. They almost all promote the same standard of being skinny and flawlessly presenting oneself. As a result this is a standard almost everyone is attempting to live up to, even if it might be impossible. Images are found all over social media and are the main resources for promotion of the specific standard. Imaging is being used to advertise oneself, however, this is being done in misleading ways. On Instagram, teenagers are posting pictures of themselves that have been edited and manipulated to reach this standard. In doing so, one is displaying an image of someone that is not truly them. Through this, I learned that people must change the way they look in order to be considered...