THE IDEA THAT OTHER PEOPLE’S BEAUTY IS NOT A LACK IN MINE
Locations
I’m driving to the store. I look left at a stoplight;
A girl is applying on mascara on her already thick lashes
In the limited time frame that we have and I think of
My own seemingly thin, short, naked eyelashes fluttering, but
I’m still flawless.
I’m wandering through the aisles and I look down
And I stumble upon the multiple shelves that hold twenty-something
Magazines all featuring the models and celebrities with
Strongly defined, well groomed, sharp, eyebrows and I think of
My own, small patches of fuzz resting on my face, but
I’m still flawless.
I’m at the checkout counter and I look up while a man asks me
How are you doing today? as he flashes a smile with his
Straight, adequately sized, white, teeth and I think of
My own, slightly tinted, slightly crooked large teeth, but
I’m still flawless.
I’m in the bathroom at the sink and I look into the mirror and
I see myself standing there in my physical form
My cheekbones, my lips, my chin, my forehead
I pick out all of these features on my face but I also see
My own smile, my own confidence, my own beauty radiating
And I’m still flawless.
It’s this idea that the definition of beauty is limited not just by
Societal expectations and mathematical “golden ratio” equations
But also by our own perceptions of and faith in ourselves
And so I realized that OTHER PEOPLE’S BEAUTY IS NOT A LACK IN MINE
And it’s because of this epiphany that I no longer see
My world in what once was an ambiguous grey but rather I view
Myself and my body and my soul in a world with all its municipal hues
Because I know I am flawless.