Our Beauty's Potential is Tamed By The Beast That is Our Society

On a philisophical level I agree most definitely with Aristotle's theory stating that beauty is an "excellence dependent upon particular relations". However, some of the best insights come from the guy a couple dorms away. I asked him simply to speak on "beauty" and after a couple stutters and "I don't knows" came wisdom. I polished and shaped his unfinished sentences into this,  " I believe beauty is derived from within. One necessary variable for achieving inner beauty is having a good heart". Sure it didn't come out just like that but maybe I speak Dude ;)

One Examply Of Organized Vanity

What he said was nothing new to my ears, it was actually all too familiar... but it filled me with calm to know boys (He would probably prefer I use the word men)...  men are at least somewhat aware of the fact true beauty is within and outer beauty fades. For as much as woman like to complain about not being appreciated for our souls and kindness, we are just as guilty as the pig headed men we complain about. Never do we oppose chasing after perfection. We pluck and straighten/curl and draw on the faces of the woman we praise in magazines. "If you can't beat them join them", this phrase lingers in the back of my mind like the smell of acetone in the shops of asian woman who promise to primp and alter everything they believe is in the way of me aquiring a boyfriend. And most of us prefer to join them rather than take a stand against organized vanity.

Who We Fear Society Will See When They Look At Us

This woman had inner beauty to spare in my opinion. She let nature take over her body and she remained strong, she was confident in the way we can't be unless we have spent hours achieving a certain look. My final take on beauty is that it starts in your mind and not your eyes or genitals. Beauty is something that I find impossible to define. It means something completely different to every individual. For instance, beauty varies from culture to culture. Imagine the positive change we would see in the self esteem of girls if we simply decided to have a deeper sense of beauty rather than the shallow perspectives we have grown up with. At the end of the day you ultimately decide whether you are beautiful, your eyes are the beholders of your own beauty. If you accept yourself, love yourself and respect yourself then  your oppoortunities will be limitless.

-Camii

The Good Ol' Days

What was childhood to me?

Childhood was...
Long, fast, good, bad, happy, sad, sleep overs, bed times, laughing, crying, learning, growing, evolving, changing. Childhood for me was a mess of contradictions and there's not a day that goes by when I don't wish I could relive one more day from it. Sure, there were hard times, but those hard times made me who I am today.

One thing I know for damn sure is that I miss my childhood cartoons/TV shows. Power Rangers (when I was four I was definitely the pink ranger for Halloween), Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold, Pokemon, The Powerpuff Girls, Dragon Ball Z, Tales From the Crypt Keeper, GOOSEBUMPS, Pinky and the Brain...honestly I could go on forever. I also remember Beavis and Butthead seeming like the coolest show ever but I of course wasn't allowed to watch it. What in the crap is Hannah Montana? Wizards of Waverly Place? I'll take 90's shows any day of the week!!! 

One random 90's television-related memory...the nights I had karate practice, my dad and I would go out to eat at Applebee's (I always ordered the kid's spaghetti and an Oreo shake), go to practice, get ice-cream at Coldstone Creamery (I always got a mint/coffee/banana ice-cream with gummy bears as a toping), and then head home because it would be my bedtime...but he would always let me stay up late and watch Walker Texas Ranger with him. Go Chuck Norris!

Also, a ton of amazing movies came out during my childhood! Some memorable 90's movies: Titanic, Edward Scissor Hands, Bram Stroker's Dracula, Pulp Fiction, American Beauty (one of my favorite movies of all time AND won five Oscar's!), Forrest Gump, Good Will Hunting, The Shawshank Redemption, Fight Club, etc.

I also remember a lot of amazing fads from my childhood... pet rocks, push pops, hula hoops, walkmen (thank God for the iPod nowadays!), WWJD, Pollypockets, and of course the Marcerena.

Perhaps most amazingly...The Broncos won TWO, count 'em, TWO Super Bowls during my childhood! Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII in '98 and'99. I still love them to this day though, with or without John Elway!

One last big part of my childhood I remember was how I found my passion for reading. I would devour anything I would get my hands on. I read the first Harry Potter book when I was in first grade. Some of the words were a little big but I remember sitting at my kitchen table after school eating a turkey and mayo sandwich my mom had made me and trucking through it. I know a lot of people say it, but J.K. Rowling's series definitely had a huge impact on my life!

All in all I would definitely say I had a pretty great childhood...I'm glad I grew up in the time I did and I will always hold these memories close to my heart!


xoxo Mel