Every morning I dread the sound of Chris Brown’s “Don’t Wake Me Up” lyrics. It rings about three times before I finally get up. And even when I am up, I don’t get out of bed right away, which usually results in me checking all social networks, or falling back asleep. When I do get out of bed however, I jump straight in the shower and continue with my morning routine, which usually lasts about an hour, since I kill so much time lingering in bed. Is an hour enough time for me to get ready? No, but it should be. After you do the basics that includes showering, brushing your teeth, washing your face, oh and don’t forget those precious 10-15 minutes where you just stand there looking at a closet full of clothes but not knowing what to wear, there is still that additional time you need to focus on your hair style, and makeup—well maybe just for us girls.
Why do girls need time to put on makeup or worry about their hair? How long should it take for a girl to put on makeup? Some girls may take hours just to put on makeup, but why? Is it because they are trying to live up to society’s standards of beautiful? What does it even mean to be beautiful these days? What about Drake’s lyrics to “Best I Ever Had”, where he sings “Sweatpants, hair tied, chilling with no makeup on cuz that’s when you’re the prettiest.” Does that not mean anything? Although Drake might feel that that’s when you’re the prettiest, not every girl feels that way. Some girls have acne scars, dark circles under their eyes, or just plain don’t feel naturally beautiful. But why not?
I am no beauty queen, but I do enjoy being put together. I think that looking and feeling beautiful is about what looks good to you. How much does it cost to feel beautiful? Should it even have to cost, and how much do girls spend monthly on it? To get my eyebrows threaded, I pay about $15, I am constantly on the search for different facial washes that doesn’t break me out even more, spot treatments and cream to hide those minor spots—I am not sure how much that comes up to but it ranges from $30-40 once you add up the different products. Don’t forget the under eye creams, and the face -masks for a smoother face. Then for the actual beauty itself: the eye shadows, the mascara, the eyeliners, and lip gloss/lipstick/lip balm (whatever you prefer.) But now as if lip balms aren’t enough, there are lip scrubs—that you can technically make yourself but you are too lazy to, so you end up paying for a $10 lip scrub at Lush. Hold on, I’m not done yet! After that, you still have to buy hair products and also eye contacts for when you don’t want to wear your dorky glasses to a party. It all adds up! Oh no—I forgot the nails, when I don’t wear nail polish; it makes my hands feel naked.
After all the products a girl can get to make her feel beautiful, it is still not good enough for society, because now society isn’t just looking at your face, but your body as well. I always stand in front of my mirror and stare at my body. I always feel like I am too skinny, because I heard it all my life. When I get my physical checkups, the doctors always tell me that my weight is good for my height, but is that how society sees it? No. Growing up, I used to always get teased in school for my weight by my own friends. They would call me names like anorexic, skinny bitch, bones, stick, or twiggy. Didn’t they know that being calling too skinny hurts just as much as being called too fat? People would always assume that I am like 90 pounds, and they would always assume that I don’t eat. Both of those assumptions are wrong, because I eat more than all my friends, and I weigh 115 pounds. It’s not my fault that I have a fast metabolism. Everyone’s body is different, and everyone has different features, so why can’t we just love ourselves for who we are and not bash others.
Confidence. Body image. We blame society for ruining these, but we are society.
Way too much pressure, too early in life, to resemble images that aren’t realistic to begin with. I see it in my youngest daughter, who is 11. Magazine covers and images constantly bombarding us from tablets, computer and TV screens — it’s no wonder so many people struggle with eating disorders. I’m 46 and have been thin (6’1″ and 180 lbs) my whole life. I weighed 130 pounds until I turned 30 and stopped working two jobs. But I still remember being the skinny boy, “bones,” etc. Now? My only eating disorder is, “Should I order dis or dat?”
I know, it’s actually pretty sad. But it just sucks that people feel the need to comment on other people’s appearances…ya know? & lol Should I order dis or dat haha.. I feel ya
Same here! All my life, I heard the you-are-too-skinny story… Actually I still hear it sometimes (I’m 28)! The pressure came more from my family. I always ate everyhing I wanted, but my metabolism was/is just too fast! People never got it. I used to smile and not answer but now as a woman, all I care is wehther I’m healthy or not, so I answer: “everyone is like it is! I was always like this wasn’t I ?!”. Embrace how you are! xo, Vera
Thank you, and you are absolutely gorgeous!!