Trying To Be Better Than BORING

DEAR DIARY, October 2009, by Megan Ryland

Trying To Be Better
Than BORING

Dear Megan,
Every day I spend so much time trying to get my makeup just right and I spend most of my money on the best clothes. No matter what I do I never feel like I fit in. Then I'll see a new lip gloss or mascara or something and I get sucked into it every time because the girls on TV look like they are so happy and have so much fun. I know it's just TV and not real, but maybe it is real. I feel like if I can be like them my life would be better. I'm scared that I'm too boring and not pretty.
~ Trying to be better in Woodstock

Hey Woodstock,

You’re not boring! One of the weirdest things I’ve realized from talking to people is that most people believe that they are far more boring than they actually are. Because we’re stuck in our own skin and our own lives, we just don’t see what’s so special about us.

For example, if you’ve grown up in North America, you’re probably used to seeing people with a lot of different appearances, but if you go to other countries you might be shocked to see how different you look from everyone there. Suddenly, people might ask to take a picture with you, because by simply having a different skin or hair colour, you’re exciting.

Back at home, it might be harder to see why you’re so unique. Our strict idea of what is ‘pretty’ often makes us blind to all the different kinds of beauty out there. When we narrow ‘pretty’ down to mean a certain size or shape, a type of hair, or a specific style, then we ignore all of the people outside of the category. However, if you choose to live outside of that box, you can be free to embrace all the ways that you are really attractive.

Find things about yourself that you like. It’s often these things that set us apart and make us interesting to other people. Think about not only your great smile or your haircut, but the fact that you tell great stories or know how to offer support to a friend. Advertisers in the media would like us to think that it’s our lip gloss that makes us beautiful, fascinating people, but in reality, it’s more about what comes out of your lips than what shade they are. You are far more interesting than any television character or cover girl, because you’re Real!

~ Megan