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Society Does Not Define Me

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Society Does Not Define Me
Society Does Not Define Me by Kristen Anastopoulos

In magazines, on T V, in movies everywhere we look we see society’s version of “perfect” girls, which forces girls everywhere to believe that’s how you’re supposed to look. Because of society I grew up thinking that skinny was beautiful, but it turns out that wasn’t true. During middle school I was bullied for various things, which made me think I wasn’t beautiful. With this mindset I did whatever I could to fit society’s standards of beautiful. I tried diets and when I couldn’t see results fast enough I moved on to eating disorders. In health class I learned how dangerous eating disorders actually were and learned society didn’t approve of them. I thought, “What the hell can I do to be perfect?” As I continued suffering from eating disorders I thought I was becoming more beautiful. Even though i thought i was still beautiful others didn't, i was still being bullied on how I look. What am I doing wrong? I asked myself everyday. I became more and more unhappy with how I looked. When I looked in the mirror I would point out a new flaw, one that didn’t line up to what society craved. I thought being beautiful was a good thing, and I thought it would make me feel good about myself but I was wrong. I tried makeup to cover up all the flaws I had, it never worked I just looked like a clown. I was adopted and had epilepsy. It made me different; different was not accepted in the eyes of society. No matter what I did I was never satisfied with myself. After a battle between me and society I realized I am different for a reason and no matter what society thinks I am beautiful.

I believe that society needs to change how they view perfect. They make it very difficult for people to live a happy day-to-day life. Girls are always worrying about how they look; they can never seem to be happy with themselves. In order for society to become more helpful instead of harmful they need to stop saying skinny is beautiful and that you should love yourself no matter what. Society puts a strain on girls self image, they view themselves as fat and ugly even if they aren’t. They strive to be perfect, but in reality nobody is. Since society isn’t changing quickly enough, I decided I was the one who needed to change. I thought about what made me happy and I started not to care what others thought of me.

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