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We are all pieces of stained glass

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MIRANDA BROOKWELL

Youth Correspondent

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

The magazine aisle will be the death of me. It seems like everywhere I look some toned, stunning model is grinning at me from behind colourful headlines, proclaiming how I can change my mediocre life.

Apparently if I eat this super-fruit, my hair will grow faster. If I spend a half hour of every day doing certain exercises, I’ll get a butt like Kim Kardashian. Huh. Isn’t that great.

I feel as if all I ever see or hear from the media are suggestions, like that one friend who always nags. We all know someone like that. As much as you pretend you don’t care, the things people say can often stick like glue in your subconscious. The even bigger problem is that these suggestions are all about appearances. I have yet to see a magazine with advice on brightening someone’s day, stories of random acts of kindness, or tips on how to improve self-esteem. When was the last time that you saw an interview with someone who wasn’t gorgeous? It’s more likely for journalists to waste their time interviewing a complete idiot who looks like Barbie, rather than chatting to someone who possesses amazing inner beauty.

The world is full of people who are overlooked because their outside appearance isn’t equal to that of the models on high-gloss magazine covers. What we perceive to be “beautiful” is a digitally altered woman who suffers at the hand of diets and a personal trainer that the average Jane could never afford. She might be a perfectly kind person who feeds the hungry and adopts kittens, but all you can focus on is how she makes you feel.

Many women, regardless of age, feel as if somehow they cannot compete with these celebrities. Why do we feel the need to conform to this warped image? Young girls change the way they look, and old girls wish they still looked like that. Either way, no one loves who they are. This is wrong.

My biggest wish is that every person’s appearance would be a direct reflection of their inner beauty. I wish that like Oscar Wilde’s story The Picture of Dorian Gray, the goodness in our hearts made us beautiful, and the darkness inside us made us ugly. If that were the case, no little girls would grow up feeling lonely because the boys didn’t ask them to dance, and middle-aged women would appreciate just how beautiful they really are.

Unfortunately, this is not the case, so I’m going to tell you something.

You are beautiful; the nicest darn piece of stained glass ever. I don’t care what you see in the mirror, or what you think you need to change about yourself. What is inside of you is far brighter and more stunning than anything anyone else can say, even those stupid magazines.