You are Beautiful by Umair Jalianwala at Kinnaird Business Week

You are beautiful!!
“Can Allah almighty create something with flaws in it? Or can ever his work be not perfect? No, never! so who has made us?? So can anybody have an imperfect face or features?  once again the answer is a big no! Every time we find a flaw or imperfection within us we question his creation.”

These were the words of “Umair Jhaliawala” telling his point of view regarding the flawless creation of almighty. A sense of realization ran like a chill through my body leaving me al shaken and guilty. I flashed back all the past times I had wished for more voluminous and thick hair, thought of not having the perfect looks.
Even the most perfect girl is insecure on the inside and will find at least one thing wrong with her. Even some models have thoughts about not being good enough while other people look at them thinking that they are the most beautiful people in our society. The editing for the ads on TV, and computers, set such high standards for women that want to look like that. It opens the eyes of everyone when they see even models complaining about their natural beauty. As a result of our society’s media and press women have lost so much. They have lost their true identity. Unfortunately, some women take it so far as even losing their health. Though it is the fault of the press and media for making these high standards for women, women should be their own person and stand up for themselves even if they are standing alone because it is what is right. Girls often compare themselves to models and celebrities due to what they see on TV. 

Girls look in the mirror and compare themselves. If they don’t meet up to their own standards they may go to the extreme to accomplish them. Some women are even affected by health issues. Anorexia and other eating disorders are a large result of women being self conscious about their bodies. Even Bulimia is a popular disease within women causing them to throw up after they eat or drink. Sadly, suicide is also a know result of trying too hard to be the “picture of perfection” in some women’s eyes. 

When a young girl gets her first Barbie Doll, nobody thinks of it as a big deal. “It’s only a toy.” Many people fail to understand that, these dolls are creating a horrible image in these girls heads making them want to be like Barbie. As a doll, Barbie looks like she would be very healthy but actually, she would be destined for disaster if she was a real person. If Barbie was an actual human, studies show that she would be 5’9” tall, have an 18” waist, a 39” bust, 33” hips and a size three shoe. The company calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight to be at 110 pounds. At her height and weight, this “beautiful woman” would have a BMI of 16.24 and she would be in the category of anorexic. If Barbie was a real person, because of her proportions, she would have to walk on her hands and feet. A shocking discovery showed that ‘Slumber Party Barbie’ (introduced in 1965) came with a scale permanently set at 110 pounds and also came with a book called “How to Lose Weight.” This wouldn’t be such a big problem but the directions inside the book simply state “Don’t eat.”

Being a teenage girl is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Yes, it is indeed a job. Everyday girls need to work at being pretty. We need to work at being good enough for everybody. It is a job that requires self confidence and unfortunately, many girls don’t have that confidence to go through the motions every day. Girls do not, by any means, just simply decide to hate their bodies: society teaches them too.

As the years progress, the figures of women have changed dramatically. Some girls worry about being too fat, chubby, corpulent, or obese. Not only do teenage girls stress over this, but also grown women. ALL ladies have had a hard time with weight, whether she wants to shed the pounds or has an ongoing brawl with her insecurities because she is uncomfortable with her physical appearance.  Just because the girl beside you or in front of you or behind you seems like she has it all because she is skinny and pretty on the outside is no reason to feel the insecurities creeping up on you. You’re beautiful in your own way and there is no reason AT ALL to disagree with that. Thin doesn’t mean healthy. If you were brought into this world with some “extra love” or additional fat, that is nothing to be ashamed of. Lady Gaga says it best with her song “Born This Way.”
Be who you are, not what others expect you to be. What women should be more concerned about are intelligence, personality, and careers. Striving to be skinny and boney is not what any woman should be doing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Oprah Winfrey is the wealthiest woman alive, and guess what? She’s not a size zero or two or four; she’s naturally curvy and takes the initiative to embrace it. She is also very educated, comes off with a genuine personality, and has a wonderful career doing what she loves and what she is passionate about.
Now a days advertisements are everywhere for different kinds of makeup, and ways to cover things up. Women have become props for the media that sell products.The main target is teenage girls. Some girls are still unsure of who they really are inside and are struggling to find out who they are trying to become. Everywhere they look there is a new influence telling them what is the new “in” thing to do and what is not.
Have you ever felt like you aren't needed in this world? Like you don't belong? Or  you have thought stuff like;  How does my hair look? God, I shouldn’t have worn this, it’s making people look at me. They would have stared anyway, I’m so fat. Uh, my acne is never going to go away. My shoes are so ugly, but my feet were too big for any of the pretty shoes. I don’t want to stare at them, but then I’d have to look up. Look up and see everyone staring and laughing at how grotesque I am. And everyone who see my face, my horrible face. My eyes are too big and top lip is too thin and my noise is just weird looking. I wish I could just disappear. Just go hide in a corner somewhere where no one will ever notice me. Or lay in some deep hole in a box. Just lay there where I can’t hear them and they can’t see me. Yeah, just escape all my problems, escape my unpleasant body. Just slip away, just slip away. Maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but the bottom line here is you shouldn't.

The message I'm trying to get out here is that no one is better than any other. We're all important in our own ways, and we should appreciate the fact that we're still alive. There is a possibility that tomorrow we won’t be, so make the best of your life today, and start to remind yourself that you ARE important.
I hope people will understand not to listen to other people and realize their importance. And yeah its time for people to look inside. I hope that people start to see how society really affect girls at every age. I want to try to get people to have compassion for woman more because it is the hardest job in the world being a teenage girl these days and it is even harder when you don't have people to help you when you are down. You want to go to that place in the sky where they say life is perfect, where you have no pain or sadness .

Look at Yourself. You are beautiful. Unique. At first glance you may seem unimportant, insignificant, but you are so much more. Each pain you've experienced, each love you've lost has made you the person you are today. You are a mosaic of emotions and promises, placed with haphazard care on the background of life. Each second is a new thread of vibrant colors, woven into your very being. No one defines you. They may tell you what to wear, what to look like, what to be. But you are uncontrollable, a wave crashing down on the problems and stereotypes standing in your way. With one decision, one resolve, they are gone. 


We have been blessed with the freedom to make choices, and in this age of information, we are able to arm ourselves in order to make right ones. It’s up to you. Are you going to let the media form your opinions for you? Or are you going to accept who you were created to be? The choice is yours…
Go look at yourself. Find beauty in you, think of impossible dreams and wish on unseen stars  and bask in the sunshine of your won smile.

True beauty is beyond the surface, but apparently that does not mean much to some women these days. It is also important to know what makes a person beautiful is their attitude and character. Besides, is it worth the grueling chase some go through after all the things that this world offers in order to gain the label “beautiful” by someone else’s standards… and in return, give everything that they are away? True beauty does not come without sacrifice and it does not come easily. It is something that anyone, but in particular women, must work on each and every day. True beauty can absolutely be achieved with determination and self-respect for oneself. It is not bombarding or harassing a girl, luring her in or tempting her the way false beauty does. True beauty stands on its own and speaks for itself. As strong, independent women, we must stand with true beauty and inspire others to do the same. Next time you see a well-dressed mannequin or runway model; remind yourself that you were born this way and nobody can discourage you as long as you stay strong. Toss your insecurities out the window and be amazing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving yourself, even if you’re not tenuous or slender. Finally, these wonderful lyrics are brought to you by Lady Gaga, and something that you must keep in mind: 

“I’m beautiful in my way,
‘Cause God makes no mistakes.
I’m on the right track, baby,
I was born this way.
Don’t hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you’re set.
I’m on the right track baby,
I was born this way.”

Never forget”

This article is written on the great training session by Umair Jaliawala at Kinnaird Business Week, Kinnaird College, Lahore. Thanks to Huma Khan-Mass Communication Student, Kinnaird College for the great article.