Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Oh goodness! I feel like I've been absent from the blogosphere from far too long now. Life has been a little hectic lately, needless to say. As they say, "when it rains, it pours." But graduation is only a few weeks away and I'm looking forward to beginning a new chapter in my life, which hopefully includes a j-o-b. ;)

Yet, as the semester rages on, I have had a few moments of introspection spaced here and there. As I begin to grow older I truly strive to focus less on physicality and attraction. But a good discussion with some friends tonight reminded me how much our society is focused on appearances. As a single gal nowadays, I've come to realize the moment I mention a guy to my girlfriends - simply a friend or other interest - they first question they ask is, "Is he cute?" Not that my friends are superficial, because I find myself doing the same thing and I overhear plenty of other people asking it too, but why as a society is that our first question, our first judgment? Why not "Does he treat you right?" or "Is he smart/driven/successful?" I find this societal theory of mine even outside of the physical realm. We are so quick to judge each other, when isn't beauty in the eye of the beholder?

In my creative writing class this semester, we are encouraged to write a diverse selection of pieces including poetry, plays, fiction, and non-fiction. After our first drafts are completed, we sit as a class and discuss each others pieces. Yet I find that people are so quick to criticize, but when it comes to giving a compliment, a hush falls over the class. Why is it so easy for some people to pick out problems but so hard to give suggestions or compliments? I feel that this has something to do with our inner turmoil and insecurities that we each face daily, but just think about how much better the world would be if each day we each strove to give compliments or constructive criticism rather than doling out judgments left and right.

This is my goal for the next few weeks - to begin to increasingly improve my attitude and hopefully inspire others to do so to!

Good luck readers!

xoxo
-ams