"PLASTIC AND PROUD!"

Marilyn Monroe

Kim Kardashian

Hi dreamers! 💝 It has been a long time since the last blog I posted on 2014 and now I’m finally back! By the title of this blog, you might have a bit of idea on what I’m going to talk about now. Let’s talk about beauty! It’s very common for young ladies, including myself, to look on social medias and see images of other young ladies with the ‘perfect’ body and the ‘perfect’ life. Well, let’s go back to the early 1950s where Hollywood brought us Marilyn Monroe, a well-renowned actress, model and singer. Her beauty is often spoken about and referred to because of her large bust and average size waist and legs that everyone across the country, wished to be her. Today, we have Kim Kardashian. Her large buttocks, small waist and almost perfectly symmetrical face, had boys wishing they could have her and girls wishing they could be her. These Hollywood celebrities continue to set the standards for the rest of the world today. These have actually become the main contribution to the insecurities among teenagers (mostly) upon their appearances.

I’ve noticed on Instagram pictures of beautiful women, ARE LIKE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE! I think that’s exciting because I… LOVE BEAUTY, I appreciate beauty and I’m a person who loves looking at beautiful things. However, of course we all have those moments when we feel weak and feel like giving up especially at times when we scroll down, stalking some beauty gurus’ Instagram feed (well that’s absolutely a bad idea). Now, this become the main issue because it might be the turning point for these girls to start working and planning out something that could aesthetically please their eyes. Initially, it might be caused by the easy access to the Internet where these girls can simply watch tutorials on Youtube about makeup, for instance. Makeup become more and more welcoming for children when nowadays there are whole bunch of kids’ makeup are being advertised and sold like the brand Claire’s. Believe me, just type in kids doing makeup on Youtube and you probably shock because they may look small but their makeup skills are more like a pro! Most kids are now undeniably lived with the perception of beauty being flawless skinned, bold eyes, plump and kissable lips by the touch of makeup. 💄

Well makeup is not just it, the power of social media is that you become your own storyteller. There are tons of online applications that you can download whether in your laptops or even in your own smartphones. You have the freedom to have access to all these apps and filters. Skin filters where you have that perfect airbrush face. You can even give yourself that ‘size zero’ waist with a touch of a button, I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING, I’VE SEEN THESE APPS! Trust me or not, the use of these apps really do distort how you perceive yourself and it’s very unhealthy! Well, based on my experience, it’s true! I was that girl who really concerned about how my photos would looked like that I took about an hour (or more), skipped my meals and used 3 different apps (minimum) to only perfecting all the blemishes on my face and making sure that the filters, the caption of my photos on Instagram, are all on point. I called this as ‘self-indulgence’, LOL (laugh out loud)! 😂

Pixie Fox

Let’s take this matter even further, many of us loved to play with Barbie and Ken dolls as children. It’s no surprise why from her various careers ranging from veterinarian to astronaut to her enviable dream house or pink car, it’s easy to see why kids would aspire to be like Barbie. But for some people, those dreams never went away and they’ve spent massive amount of money to undergone surgical procedures just to further resemble their favourite childhood toy.  A Swedish woman named Pixie Fox who lived in California, already did about 200 SURGICAL PROCEDURES in order to be called as “The Living Cartoon” specifically as a real life Barbie! She removed 6(!!!) of her ribs in order to gain that very deep curve, hourglass-shaped body. Breast augmentation, nose job, ears made like elf ears, liposuction, Brazilian butt-lift, eye colour change and the list goes on and on. Wow! That’s just… INSANE! Right? Nope, not to her. She even claimed herself as a “PLASTIC AND PROUD!”💃

(PHEW! 💨) OK, enough with the heavy. Let’s make things straight, all these issues are all started by these individuals tried to compare themselves with the people that are so-called have this ‘perfect’ body and life. GIRLS! (or even boys) Chin up! Stop comparing! Well, it’s a human nature to compare yourself to other people because we are very adaptive and receptive. It’s totally normal to feel insecure sometimes. It’s totally normal to feel… I guess… jealous? But you do have a choice of what you want to see. You don’t necessarily have to see these beautiful pictures of all these girls, looking at their perfect portrayed life, instead, perhaps you can start following photographers or painters, artist or even musicians. There are so many other things you can follow online, doesn’t necessarily have to be a supermodel or a celebrity that has this ‘perfect’ life. That’s what they want to show you. Bear in mind that they are not an accurate representation of what we all need to be and don’t let them distort how you perceive yourself. Don’t give yourself such a hard time because you can do this too. You can portray your best version of yourself and your perfect life. However, is that all you want to show online? I’d much rather be valued than… wanted. Is that make any sense? Because as you grow older you realize that looks fade but what remains the same is your soul and your wisdom. Remember, stop obsessing over the ‘cannots’ and start focussing on the what can. 👍

Look at the brighter side, the crystals, they are not perfectly cut like a flawless diamond but they’re beautiful in its own unique way. There won’t be any crystal like these ones and just like you. You are perfectly imperfect and at the end of the day this what makes you special. You have to remind yourself that if you want to build self-confidence or self-love, you have to stay positive and that’s the key. There is this quote I found that I really like and it goes… Be like a proton, and stay positive. Best of luck dreamers! ✨🌈

Much love,

Piya 💖