It's official. I'm sick of my blog design... again. I go through this every few weeks. The OCD kicks in and I get sick of the way my blog and/or blogs look and do a complete design overhaul. Honestly, I love rebuilding my blog from the ground up every so often, even though it is soooooo time consuming (HTML code and I are friends, but we don't always get along...).
So, I'm bringing back a blast from this blogs past... sort of. For any of you who have seen my blog before its current black and white style may recognize the new look; it's an updated version of an old design I made when this blog was first started.
I'm posting this as I'm still constructing said 'new look,' so please don't be too annoyed if things lose some functionality for a bit. Hopefully, everything will be up and running smoothly by the end of the day. And maybe, just maybe, this design will last for a while... but probably not. ^_^
I love that title. Makes sense doesn't it? It's the title of an article on one of my favorite blogs, Woman Uncensored. It was another blog entry on circumcision. Alright, I know I already posted a preachy entry today. I won't go into another rant since you all just endured a soapbox moment earlier, but I would recommend reading it on her site. Click here to see her post. That is all...
I know I have written a few posts on how I am trying to lose weight. Since this has been on my mind a lot lately (only two more months before our big vacation), I have been pondering why I feel not just adamant about losing the weight, but very emotional about it as well.
I haven't solved that mystery completely, but I am going to throw out one thing I think is key: society. Yes, I said it. Yes, it's cliched.Yes, I still think there is some truth there. And no, I am not trying to find a scape goat for why I can't stop eating sweets. Ha, ha!
Our culture places so much emphasis on appearance and looks, that sometimes it is hard not to get completely consumed by it. We associate our worth as a person with what we look like. Our physical attributes become enmeshed with, and inseparable from, our own sense of self worth. It's an unfortunate, and costly, mistake to confuse the two as interchangeable.
By placing so much importance on outward appearance, we sadly overlook the things that truly define a person: intelligence, a caring heart, personality, opinions, talents, beliefs, morals, creativity, and all the other little things that combine to make each of us unique. It is even sadder when we focus on what we think (strong emphasis on think) is wrong with our own physical appearance. We define ourselves by the digits on our bathroom scales, the number on the tag of our jeans, or one feature or another that we don't think is "good enough."
One example of this is Heidi Montag. Some of you may not really know who she is, and those of you that do are probably tired of hearing about her recent surgical endeavors. Well, too bad. I'm going to say a word about them here anyway. Keep in mind, this girl is 23 years old; she is 6 months younger than I am.
Did you catch that? How 'bout one more time?
According to FamousPlastic.com, here is a list of surgeries she has undergone so far (remember, she is only 23!):
-Nose job
-Breast augmentation
-Lip injections
- Brow lift
- Botox
- Nose job #2
- Fat injections in the face
- Chin reduction
- Liposuction of the neck
- Liposuction on the waist
- Liposuction on the hips
- Liposuction on the thighs
- Ears pinned back
- Breast augmentation #2
- Butt augmentation
To me, this is sad testament to how we choose assign value ourselves and each other. Heidi Montag was quoted as saying, "I just wanted to feel more confident and look in the mirror and be like, 'Whoa! That's me!' I was an ugly duckling before." Maybe it's just me, but the girl in the before pictures does not look like "an ugly duckling."
Of course, thanks to free agency, everyone can make their own decisions... and plastic surgery was hers. I just can't help but think how outside influences may have made her feel like what she looked like wasn't good enough. How hard would that be, to not like who you are based on something that matters so little in the long run?
It may be difficult to separate ourselves from this cultural mindset of physical beauty above all else (I know that I struggle with it), but I would hope that we would all try to see ourselves for who we really are. Not our flesh and bone structure and extra fat, but our hearts and souls and minds that truly define us and give us endless possibilities to succeed and excel!
Okay. Deep breath. I know that was a lot to read from the soapbox at one time. I am aware that I tend to run on and on with these kinds of posts. I'm not trying to be preachy; I just feel so strongly about some things. If you don't love me for my ramblings, please forgive them; I honestly can't help myself. Ha, ha!
P.S. On a more positive note, Jessica Simpson has a show coming out of Vh1 about what is beautiful in different countries and cultures. I think it could be really interesting to see what is considered attractive in the world outside our own cultural perspective. Check out this article and the video below!
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