Clothes Are Not Everything

Clothes Are Not Everything

Self-image means the world to women. They think that they have to look like supermodels in order to keep everyone around them including themselves, happy. In order to do this, we change our image to "fit in" with the hottest trends. This topic really pertains to how I used to think self-image was so important in my life. That was all that mattered to me, and it was all I thought about 24/7. Influences around the world including the people around us, movies such as Material Girls seem to encourage women to think that you get where you need to go in life if you look good.

In today's world, women feel as if they always need to fit in with everyone else, especially the way they dress. Self-image is such a big part in today's world. Anytime you turn the TV on or look in a magazine, women automatically look down on themselves because they do not have that "perfect image" that all the celebrities have. We seem to think that if we are not pencil thin with perfect curves then others will not accept us.

Self-image can affect so many things in yourself that you would never even realize. Some may begin to think that suddenly they are fat, not a good person, not smart, and they are not worthy of happiness. All of these reasons will cause the person to think even more negatively about themselves and how they look. Women with these problems need to surround themselves with others that know how they are feeling so that they have someone to relate to. If there is a group of individuals whom feel the same way as you do, then you may be able to kick your habit of feeling bad about yourselves. If women continue to feel this way about their image, it will lead to serious consequences.

Some women can go to such extremes to try to make themselves happy with the way they look. Numerous ladies will undergo cosmetic surgeries, and they can even develop eating disorders such as anexoria nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and even over-exercising. These things can put such stress on the body, and cause you to feel even worse about yourself than you did in the beginning. In America today, the average number of women with eating disorders would be 10-15 percent, and 97 percent of women will be "cruel" to their bodies in one way or another whether it is through self-harm, or any other damaging aspect. It is so amazing what women will put themselves through in order to feel a sense of acceptance. These are key factors proving that women will do anything and everything in their will to make others around them notice them. They will risk anything, and go to such extreme measures in order to get that "perfect and fabulous" image.

The first thing I do when I open a magazine is that I look at a picture of a supermodel in the most fashionable clothes. Straight after seeing all of these pictures, it makes me want to look exactly like the model so I can feel a sense of "acceptance" and have people like me as much as the models are liked. The whole time that I am looking at all of the pictures I never once thought about how all of the pictures are probably photo shopped. But, in the end that still does not make me feel much better about myself. All I can think about is how perfect they look, and how I would do anything to be perfect just like them.

When I look at those pictures, it really makes me realize how self-conscious I am. I always look down on myself, and it definitely does not help my situation when I am looking at all of the supermodels in the magazines. All I wear is sweatpants and sport-type shirts. I never like to wear anything tight fitting anymore because it is almost as if I am disappointed with the way I look. The first step to being happy would be to accept yourself for who you are, and love everything about yourself. I just have to get to that point. But I just could not get past the fact that all I wanted was to be just like everyone else, especially celebrities with their perfect ideal bodies. The more I thought about this self-conscious issue that I had, I discovered that it actually can make you feel depressed.

Especially when I came to college I felt the instant pressure of wanting to fit in. The first day I walked onto campus, all the upperclassmen, and even the kids my age immediately intimidated me. That day after classes, I went back to my room and looked at all of the pictures on the Internet of all the celebrities and how they dressed. What can I say? It was college, and I wanted a fresh start. This is the place I could be the person I have always wanted to be. For once I actually wanted to be popular and just fit in. These personal issues do not just happen in our lives, but they also happen on the big screen.

In the movie Material Girls, it is about these two Hollywood sisters that are outrageously rich due to their late fathers cosmetic company. They get everything they want, have so many friends, and live the glamorous life every single day. Clothes and their appearance mean everything to them, and nothing else matters. When their family company is under a media scandal, all of their money they have suddenly gets put on hold. This forces the girls to learn how to live life like the typical American teenagers. They were stripped of all their fabulous clothes, all their famous friends, and began to get a taste of the life they have never experienced before.

Just when they think their lives are falling apart, they learn to blend in with others. At first they found it was a struggle, but they finally got the hang of the "normal life". In the end, they clear the company's name. They end up working for the company rather than just getting the money from the profit. The girls learn that hard work is worthwhile, and they start to respect the value of a dollar and how much it can mean to people. They also learned whom their true friends are when they stood by them when they went through all of these struggles.

Women could learn a lot from this movie. Yes, it begins with the girls being very materialistic, but sometimes that is exactly what you have to start with in order to really appreciate the little things in life. Women always think that they need so many material items in order to be happy, but that is far from the truth.