What is beautiful?

Every year a beauty pageant is held in which a beauty queen is selected to represent the state. The queen is chosen based on beauty, which the media has defined as a skinny, tall woman (5 ft 6 in) with the weight of approximately 100 pounds... In which one is attracted mostly by the appearance rather than the personality. This is what American society chooses to be represented by. In which almost every form of media gives us images of beautiful people with perfect bodies. We are told how we should look, as if the ever-lasting smiles in magazines mock us for not looking as great as they look.

In an attempt to reach, the standard vital consequences have emerged. People begin to turn anorexic, bulimic, and have surgery for the sake of being “beautiful”. They switch from cardio machine to cardio machine, always lifting more weights than they should with expressions of pain.

Have come to dying or becoming very sick due to trying to be what everyone else is.
The truth is that America’s average females are not as “fit” as they “should” be. What is hard to understand is how America lets the media define it’s beauty, that is limited to only a few in it’s population. While the rest of the population, struggles to catch up.

Before beauty would be described as someone, a bit chunkier or fuller if you will. Only to the fact that it meant they had more to eat and didn’t suffer from poverty. Look at were we came to be at now.

Relating to the old age time comes a book where looks also matter, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’. A talented man, he himself being Cyrano de Bergerac fell in love with Roxane and feels that the only thing between them is his big nose.

When finding out that Roxane has fallen in love with a much more handsome figure, he is forced to stay loyal to her and befriend his new rival. Like Roxane described Christian, (his rival) was handsome but what she misinterpreted to be the wit of knowledge in his look was just the shy figure of a person who is left speechless. Yet to see her happy, Cyrano and Christian make a deal. Cyrano will be the soul of the relationship and Christian the body, both working together to conquer Roxane’s heart as one. Moreover, the plan works, Roxane falls in love but with what the appearance of Christian’s bright eyes, or the letters he writes (being Cyrano’s in disguise).

Comes the time when Roxane confesses to Christian that she loves him for his soul alone. That his beauty attracted her to him, but that she was mistaken to have first noticed his looks rather than his talent. (For Cyrano’s words alone) At the hearing of that, Christian goes out to battle, to die. Roxane however finds out the truth, about the deal made, and understands that all along she had fallen in love with Cyrano, despite his looks.

Though today like other days we look into the mirror and see the imperfection in us, we should come to know that beauty isn’t all that matters…. “At last yourself are vanquished by yourself: I love you for your soul alone”, said Roxane.

-Stephanie M.