“I wish I was her.”
How many times have you heard that very sentence in the past year? What about: I wish I had her hair, eyes, nose, body, job, puppy…etc.
But the real question is, how many times have you expressed such desires?
Love it or hate it, the media is full of celebrities, personalities and somehow-famous-for-no-reason women who have somehow made an abundance of us normal folk feel lesser about ourselves. Be it their wavy locks or impossibly bright smiles, we look at them longing to do a little Freaky Friday action- minus the switchback.
What we forget in the momentary awe of apparent perfection is that these people are just human. Sure, in that image they seem perfect, but that moment took preparation, maybe hours of hair and makeup or practicing speeches and interviews. Believe it or not, they have bad days, breakups, weight gain, days without makeup and regrets, just like we do.
Following her discovery, the public became enamored with Marilyn Monroe’s radiance. Blindsided by curves and a mole above her lip (hence the Monroe piercing), they failed to notice Monroe’s imperfections. Having had an unstable mother, a childhood of foster homes, drug problems, failed relationships and plastic surgery on her nose, the beauty was anything but perfect. Yet, she was on top of the list of coveted lifestyles.
While it’s okay to flip through a magazine and get inspiration from the appropriately named-beautiful people, the next time you find yourself willing to give up anything for an actress’ freckles, just remember that that actress has flipped through a magazine and yearned for another’s tanned skin. No one is actually perfect. It’s the imperfections that people find charming and relatable. So this year, why not let yours shine through?