What Is Beauty?

By Brent Ramirez
Blog Content Contributor

So what is “beauty”? What defines it? The thing about beauty is that it’s hard to truly define. Beauty means something different to every individual and is an amalgamation of many qualities.

I think most people initially associate beauty with physical appearance, and I don’t fault anyone for that. Realistically speaking, when we meet people for the first time our first impression is based heavily on what we see of them. We notice facial features, skin color, hair, body type, style and fashion, etc. Before a single word ever comes out of their mouth, we’ve noticed all of these things about them, and based on this instance alone we determine how attracted we are to this person. I don’t believe this is being shallow in anyway; I think it is what naturally happens. Just keep in mind this is a very surface-level observation we make about appearance upon first glance before we actually get to know people.

Physical beauty is something a large amount of people obsess about, myself included. I constantly find myself looking in the mirror and thinking to myself, “Bruh, you need to quit with the excessive fluffer nutters and orange chicken.” In all seriousness, I am not confident nor satisfied in the way that I look, and I know there are a ton of people out there who feel the same way. People want to be taller or shorter, thicker or thiner, and wish they had that hair or that skin tone. The truth is, some of us have certain physical attributes that others would love to have themselves and vice-versa.

While it’s important to be proud of who you are, and to love yourself, I believe it’s equally important to fulfill your personal goals in shaping yourself. If you want to cut your weight down, go work out. If you want curly hair, try getting a perm. You can go out and try these things if you want to achieve a certain look, but do them for yourself. Don’t ever feel like you have to look a certain way to impress anyone; the only person you need to please is you.

Sure, people often associate beauty with physical appearance, but it’s easy to forget that there are many other ways that beauty is shown. You could be the perfect human specimen, but it takes a lot more than that to be truly beautiful. To me, beauty lies within as well, and as cheesy as that may sound, I stand by it.

Beauty is more than looks; beauty is confidence and inner strength. It’s the ability to carry yourself out of the deepest rut and the determination to persevere despite everything the world throws at you.
Beauty is honesty; It’s being truthful despite your mishaps; It’s intimacy and authenticity; It’s always staying true to yourself.
Beauty is humility. It’s putting others before yourself and doing good out of the kindness of your heart with the expectation of nothing in return.
Beauty is intelligence. It’s the ability to conceive, interpret and develop ideas beyond the imagination of others. It’s the clever and wit in a conversation. It’s the ability to speak with knowledge of the world in which we live.

Beauty is kindness and love. It’s the ability to show others genuine compassion regardless of their circumstance. It’s the bouquet of flowers on a Tuesday for no reason, or a shoulder to cry on when the world seems to be falling down. It’s unconditional care and the willingness to understand.
Beauty is the complex harmony of these qualities and can not be described in a few short words. There is a uniqueness to the beauty in every individual for it can not be replicated. For those who struggle with finding beauty in themselves, I challenge you to look again. Maybe you’ll finally see the beauty that others see in you.