Over 25% of women feel that they need to meet the beauty standards of today’s society.*  In reality, the messages from the media and society are absurdly inaccurate and do not reflect the beauty of our differences. Although the average woman is told by the media that she needs the security of uniform features and appearance, this is nothing of the truth. Trying to achieve these unfair standards causes destruction, just as oil spilled upon a delicate flower causes it to wilt away.  

A woman’s mind, heart, and body, like the grand canyon, displays the great layers of divine beauty which show deep emotion and tell a great and true story. Each unalike layer represents the pain and hardships she has endured along her journey in life. This honesty shines through to strangers with an open and heavy heart. 

Beauty is not without but within. The pain, suffering, happiness, courage, faith, and strength of life have built the beauty hiding beneath you. Scars are not an excuse to dwindle away like a match burning out. You have to recognize your self worth, understand it, and believe it. 

I know the struggle of self worth and the hunger to be accepted. I feel like I am always put on the back burner, never to see the light of one’s acknowledgement. I often feel as though I am different and not equal to the others. I have come to understand myself – the beauty, the pain, the hardship – all of it. I have come to realize that it does not matter what others think; it is what I think and believe that will make the difference. 

* Devon, N. (2017, September 22). You are YOUR looks: That’s what society TELLS GIRLS. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/22/girls-looks-teach-children-appearance-stereotypes

* Bloom, Saisha. Observation. artwork. https://saishabloomdotcom.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/being-slave/