In our society, beauty standards are pressed so hard on women. As a teenage girl, I feel as if there is so much pressure to look a certain way — almost like there is an unspoken rule about how pretty a girl “should” be.

Beauty standards, specifically body image, can tremendously affect someone’s self esteem. I find myself looking at a woman who most people collectively agree is beautiful and feeling less than for not having the same features as that person.

In some cases trying to fit into standards can cause severe problems with with adolescents. According to the National Library of Medicine, teenagers become more aware of their bodies, because of the rising growth of social media, and can develop unhealthy habits such as eating disorders and mental health problems.

What helps me when I begin to feel that kind of way is to remind myself that I was not made for people to judge who I am based on my beauty.

It seems like everything is so heavily based on the way someone looks it takes away from how as humans we were meant to perceive people.

I believe we were created perfectly and wonderfully in God’s image and put on earth to love. If we lack love, then what are we worth? whether we are considered beautiful by the world or not.

At the end of the day, beauty withers away as time passes. Our hair will all fade to grey and our skin will begin to wrinkle, but the person we are will stay the same. That’s something we should be setting a standard on, the beauty of who we are as people.