A Beautiful Individual
By: Analise Hoveyda
Actress, Singer, and Dancer.
In my opinion, there are two types of beauty - Physical and Spiritual. I believe one can work hard to become a “beautiful individual” as a whole by continuously improving physically and spiritually.
Physical beauty is what can be seen in one's eyes. For example, a person’s good looks, beautiful voice, facial gestures, dance moves, luxurious car, and profession. Spiritual beauty is much more profound. Spiritual beauty takes work to develop and can last a lifetime, while physical beauty may not need as much effort. Spiritual beauty means having a good heart, having a smile on your face, showing kindness to others, and giving back to charities.
As a little girl I would love to play dress up and pretend I was in pageants. At the age of 8, my mother decided to put me in one. I was not too serious about really competing in a pageant. I said to myself, “ it is just a beauty contest”. My mother thought it was a good idea to put me in the pageant because she thought it would be fun for me to do. Also because there was a talent show and I was a singer. Before I joined the pageant I thought they were all about girls that competed to be the prettiest or such. I felt a little insecure about doing it because I felt I would not even have a chance of winning. While doing the pageant, the practices were mostly about interviews and acting proper. I came to a realization that they actually judge you on the way you are on the inside, your personality, not just what is on the outside. What really mattered is how you are on the inside. Today's society revolves around physical beauty, while the main focus should be on spiritual beauty.
To a certain extent, it is understandable to judge someone on their looks if we do not know them personally. For people we do not know personally, it is all we know of them and we know ourselves that it is difficult to not make any assumptions about them. When it comes to a person you know, it is far less likely for you to judge them on their looks than their personality. When you know someone, it is easier to see past their appearance. But it is more than that. It is the beauty of their spirit.
I believe the beauty of someone's spirit has a real impact on their physical beauty. I know some people whom they would say others are not physically attractive. But they strive for goodness, not to be physically attractive. They carry themselves well. And this is reflected in their appearance. Their physical flaws do not disappear, but they are overshadowed by their spirit. And they simply do not matter. They become insignificant in comparison to the beauty of the person.
If we allow our spirits to become ugly, ourselves as a whole becomes ugly. But if we care for our spiritual beauty, we become truly beautiful individuals.