Beauty that matters....

"Radha! What are you doing?" Answering quickly,  "Nothing Mimmi" , I would come out of my room, carefully dodging the mess of talcum powder which I had created on the floor. 

10 years ago, this incident used to occur frequently in my house because I was completely obsessed with talcum powder when I was young. I used to apply it on my face whenever I got a chance to do so. I don't know if it was watching Yami Gautam in the Fair and Lovely commercial or the actual fair people in my life , which compelled me to try and change my typical Indian "Savla" colour. I was too young then to understand that true beauty does not always reside in one's "Gora-Chitta" colour, but lies in one's heart. When my family members reminisce about this incident and tell me about my great, stupid thoughts today,  I simply laugh on my younger self because that Radha thought that she could change  her not so fair colour into a Scandinavian white, just by applying talcum powder! 

Thinking about this more seriously, I feel that my younger self viewed beauty as someone else's opinion,  rather than an inner feeling. But today, the 15 year old me is aware that a "Hey, you look beautiful " comment cannot make me feel beautiful. It is when I read books,  answer and ask questions in a class, dance to my own beat, sing crazily with my younger brother, play handball with my friends,  spend time with my family and help someone in need, that I truly feel beautiful.

Sadly, upon some research, I discovered that not only was I conscious about my body image at such a young age, but around 80% of young girls in the world today are not comfortable with their body and want to change the way they look. They think on the same lines as my younger self and view talcum powder, eyeliner, eyeshadow and lipstick as a necessity to seek others' validation, rather than a personal choice to make themselves feel better. To those girls out there, I want to say that you are not supposed to look beautiful,  you are supposed to feel beautiful , and it is this beauty that matters the most. 

Thus, do remember that beauty is defined by you; you are never defined by your beauty. So stay beautiful in your own way!

Thank you for reading this blog and I'm open to your feedback( please mention your name along with the feedback). We'll meet again soon with a next blog.

Bbye

Until next time