Blonde. That classic untainted pure-breed Valley girl blonde.No highlights.Nothing. Wait,on second thought, I need something to match my vibrant soul. PLATINUM. Yes! that's it, vivacious platinum blonde.You know that Gwen Stefani,Gaga kind.If you take a closer look, the former Valley Girl kind leans towards a golden kind of hue. And just what would I do with my platinum blonde hair when I'm bored? PASTEL.Exactly, I'd dye it Pastel pink,purple you name it.
You see all this is in another life if one could pick out the intricate details of who we are. It goes without saying, that, that duty belongs to a higher power. Nevertheless, that doesn't eliminate the probability of having been born into any racial grouping,social status and so forth,and so on. I could have been a blue-eyed, blonde haired Carlifornia- born girl,or a ginger-head lassy from Dublin. 31st March was the date.'96 was the year. My fate was sealed.Well probably not, considering genetics etcetera,etcetera. So probably my fate was sealed at the advent of the human species. Anyway, for literary purposes my fate was hypothetically sealed. I was to be an African child.My hair?
Black. I wouldn't exactly describe it how Brothers Grimm,Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm ,described Snow White's. But it was dark,thick,rich. Sounds like a good cup of coffee,huh. The deal breaker . It was the coarse,nappy kind. So,yes I was the kid who cried in the salon and broke a few combs as they tried to straighten it out.
Throw at me the the phrase "Girl next door" and I'd probably throw the name 'Jessica Simpson' back. At least when I was younger. To me, from an outsiders perspective,say if I recently discovered modern technology and saw Jessica I'd think,Yap! She's the girl next door. What particularly comes to mind is 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. I haven't watched the movie but I do remember the video of the soundtrack sang by Jessica in which she strode around looking all sassy and fiesty, as she belted out the words to "These boots are made for walking". She's perfectly toned.Perfectly tanned.Smoky eyes. And her waves of blonde dance around her neck like puppets with no strings. It's no wonder the video received backlash from feminists and Christian folk .Well, that had more to do with her dressing or lack thereof and her demeanor. But then again if you judge people you have no time to love them right?
And we all love "The girl next door". The radiant "Girl next door".
Now you'll forgive me but I wish to skew your perception of the girl next door. You see the girl next door is average.And I don't mean that in the mediocre kind of way. I mean that she's just you know bleh! My words are so comprehensive,I know. She's this stunning beauty,a hands down ten,the girl everyone wishes to be,the girl everyone wants.And believe me this goes way beyond the scope of outward attractiveness. So how can something or someone so seemingly radiant and divine be average or bleh!.Not to mention she's well put together. 'Well put together' in reference to the girl next door means she's somewhat a masterpiece,perfectly assembled by the Creator. Heck,even her persona is just right. She's outspoken,but not too outspoken. She's smart but not too smart. She's ambitious but not too ambitious.She's a crowd-pleaser, a lover of the norm.She's conventional.Walks in a straight line. The boy next door also exists and he too shares the same traits as his feminine counterpart. Honestly, before I put a bit of thought into this subject matter I admired the girl/boy next door. After all they were masters of balance,weren't they? They had managed this harmony in which all aspects of their personal life were just right.Not too hot,not too cold.Just right. And their hypothetical 'Goldilocks' is Society. Aah! yes,society. They are the perfect depiction of society's expectations.Skinny but not anorexic.Friendly but not fake. Quiet but not rude.You get the idea,right?
Society says:
Because you're a little boy wear blue. Because you're a little girl wear pink.Society is never pleased and holds us captive in what was once described as peaceful slavery. So what does the society preach to us at an early age "Be yourself". So we submit to its will and go about being whoever and whatever we were destined to be. Then society says "No, not that way" and we equally submit to its will.
But society is pleased with the girl/boy next door.Simon says.No,society says"Straighten your hair! Raise your hemlines!Lower your cleave lines!Be skinnier! You want to be the girl next door don't you?"
Well Dear society.No,i don't.I'll keep my nappy hair,thank you. And I will eat cake.
And I'll even introduce you to the new girl in town,and be warned she's rising fast.
Dr.Terry Dubrow, commonly known in E!'s hit series 'Botched' stated that 'Beauty is strategic imperfection' That perfectly resonates with my beliefs that beauty is in the struggle within. How I wish I was echoing the words of Jermainne;who I referenced in an earlier piece but that would be quoting his words out of context. But then again perhaps not.It is in our flaws that we are beautiful. The beauty of a person is in his triumph over trials and tribulations that have faced him. Their beauty is in the grace with which they fight their demons, their everyday struggles. Their beauty is in rising up each and every time life knocks them down. Their beauty is in their resilience. Their beauty is in the way they carry their burden.
Their beauty is in their fight.
It's not in the way they wear their hair,it's not even in how they wear their clothes. It's in the rawness of their emotion, it's in the glow in their soul. It's in their determination to not be defined by the circumstances they found themselves in or they were born into.
Too many people walk around, with sunken shoulders claiming to be 'Life's Victims'. That life did them wrong and made them who they are now. We are all given two things in this life, circumstances and choices. Our circumstances don't define us, our choices do. "Our" is the key word. We make our own paths.
And throughout history people have battled all sorts of situations of great desperation and have triumphed. And have done so gracefully.They redefined their destiny, realigned their stars. Likewise given our despair we must strive to be magnificent.
My depiction of beauty isn't that portrayed by the typical girl next door,for I myself I'm not her and wish not to be her. She's a product of society and hushes the colors that keep the soul alive and subtly forces others to do the same. True beauty lies in personalities such as Marilyn Monroe. It sounds awfully ironic,I'm aware. But she bore the raging battles within herself with uttermost dignity and still smiled at the cameras and dazzled the crowds. She unlike the girl next door viewed herself as imperfect, unworthy so to speak but yet only until her final years did she proclaim the true image of beauty which contrasted with that of just a pretty face on the big screen.
People's beauty is in their story. Not in something as temporary as their looks. It is in the fact that they may not be well put together or have everything in their life at a perfect balance.After all isn't it the chaotic wildfire that rages within one's soul that truly makes us who we are.
I am in my scars.I am in my quirkiness. I am in my insecurities.I am in fears. I am in my triumphs. I am in my awkwardness.I am in my laughs. I am in my tears.
I am not my hair,I am not this skin. I am a soul that lives within-India Arie.
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