11. How People Look

"Mummy why am I not as pretty as her?"
"But you are darling..."
"But she is prettier!"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but studies has shown that most of us usually agree when saying who is beautiful or handsome regardless of our gender. So, what exactly is beauty and is does it come by nature or nuture?

Undeniably, beauty is very subjective, but there are several determinants which we often we look into such as height, symmetry, facial features, physique, skin tone, waist to hip ratio and so on. For example, research has shown that women prefer men who are taller than them whereas men prefer women who are younger and low waist-to-hip ratio (whose body bodies are shape like an hour glass)-features are associated with fertility.

As society places to much emphasis on beauty it is only natural that attractive people tend to be more intelligent, better adjusted, and more popular. This is described as the halo effect - due to the perfection associated with angels. Research shows attractive people also have more occupational success and more dating experience than their unattractive counterparts. The television sitcom "Ugly Betty" documents the life of a girl faced with hardships due to society's unwelcoming attitudes toward those they deem unattractive. Sadly, when too much emphasis is place on physical attractiveness, people begin to forget about inner beauty and this leads to social problems such as anorexia and bulimia just because they wanted to look like supermodels or their idols. Some even went to the extent of going under the knife to look beautiful-i.e. plastic surgery.

Unfortunately, beauty is determined by genetics. However, a balanced diet, exercise, drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep also helps! For instance, exercising helps to burn extra fat and keeps the body in good shape. Furthermore, healthy people more attractive then those who are sick. It is important to point out that although physical beauty is important, inner beauty which comes from the heart should never be overlooked. Kindness, tenderness, compassion, creativity and intelligence are values that make human, a human. Although scientific studies has yet to proof that inner beauty counts in choosing a mate, it cannot be denied that people prefer to be around those who are cheerful and happy as the feeling is shared with those around them. Beauty does not guarantee happiness but kindness and love does.



To some up, although we cannot totally change how we look but we can change our inner beauty, and inner beauty is reflected out as one's true beauty.

"You may not be someone to the world, but to someone you are the world."