Monday, May 2, 2011

I Refuse To Fit In The Jelly Mould.

I just watched the latest episode of Glee - Born This Way - which has a self-acceptance message, and it got me thinking: how much of ourselves do we accept?

We live in an age where there are solutions to every flaw about ourselves. 
Fat? 
Diet, Marie France, liposuction, take your pick. 

Eyes too small? Nose too large? Facial structure a bit wonky? 
Plastic surgery, baby. You'll get a whole new face. All you need is money. 

No leadership skills/relationship dud/bad in bed? 
Self-help books practically fly off the shelves in bookstores.

I mean, yeah it's awesome that we want to be the best we can. But there is such a thing as doing too much, and trying to squeeze into a societally-constructed idea of what is the ideal person. I mean, beauty is relative. Not everybody has to be a 5'6", 36-24-36 blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman to be considered beautiful. Not everybody has to scale to the absolute top of the corporate ladder to be considered successful. Not all happiness comes with the black AmEx. Not all porn stars are actually having good sex.

Sorry to burst that bubble, boys.

But the point I'm trying to get at here is that sometimes we should embrace what makes us unique. Why try to fit in the mould? Why try to be like everybody else?

The girl who thinks she's 'fat' probably has a boyfriend who adores her curves.

The girl who thinks she looks like a giraffe probably has lovely, long legs.

I have shite leadership skills but who the fuck cares? We can't ALL be leaders, who would we lead then? I'm fucking awesome at what I do (following), thank you very much. And is it so bad to follow? Is it not better to be a grade-A follower than a fail leader? It's not like I'm a mindless sheep, I contribute in my own capacity. Are you trying to say I'm less successful because I can't organise people? Well, I'm not. And neither are you a failure if you can't become CEO in 5 years.

After 22+ years of falling over and hitting things, I have come to accept that I have almost non-existent hand-eye coordination and I will never be able to do sports that require that particular gift (which is pretty much all sports). That's me. In a crowd of normal people who do not knock over coffees, I like to think I stand out.

I also have a lot of junk in my trunk. Baldly stated, I have a big ass. I hate it. But it makes me ME. I mean, who would I be without my butt? Friends actually recognise me on the street by the butt (wtf!). And for that, I have extended a grudging olive branch towards the backside. We now have a grudging peace treaty. Don't antagonize it.

So, what is it about yourself have you wanted to change but you now think you should accept instead?

Embrace your unique awesomenesss!

4 comments:

k0k s3n w4i said...

I also have a lot of junk in my trunk. Baldly stated, I have a big ass. I hate it.

you say it like it's a bad thing. i smell a covert self-praise ;)

No leadership skills/relationship dud/bad in bed?
Self-help books practically fly off the shelves in bookstores.


how is self-improvement a bad thing!?

The girl who thinks she's 'fat' probably has a boyfriend who adores her curves.

not true, she has a boyfriend who tells her he adores her curves. huuuge difference.

May Lee said...

if you're a chinese girl who really just wants to be able to fit into pants, it's a REALLY BAD THING.

'self-improvement', when its done in order to shoehorn oneself into an unrealistic mould is terrible! self-improvement to reach one's potential is good tho =D

and oh no, dont say thatttt now im all sad and mildly paranoid o.O

Liz said...

I liked that episode :D I'm glad Rachel Barry didn't get her nose done to look like Quinn's in the end. And I love that the episode was also inspired by Barbra Streisand, someone who has one of the most unique, defining noses in the WORLD--because she refused to get a nose job to look like the other Hollywood stars who were deemed beautiful.

What makes us different is what makes us unique :D

I guess mine, is my height :P

May Lee said...

i know right?? but quinn has an AWESOME nose tho. hahaha.

embrace your vertical-challenged-ness, sasa. hahaha. actually you're not that short lor.. its cute!!