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The Fight for Beauty

     When I walk into a bathroom I see two sides of life.  I see the hair in the sink from when he shaved the previous night, a toothbrush, and a stick of deodorant. On the other side I see mass chaos. A straightener is cooling off in the sink, and all around there are bags over flowing with beauty products. Her jewelry is strewn across the counter top; abandoned after she changed her earrings three times that morning, before meeting with a client. Her medicine cabinet is bloated with perfume,  makeup, contacts, and other things that she bought to improve her appearance. Why are these sides so different from each other? Why doesn't he have beauty products that he needs to feel like he is presentable enough to go out in the world? Even better,  why does she need to use these things to feel like she looks good enough to be in public? Views in society today are construed beyond belief. Not only are women struggling to feel beautiful enough, they are paying a high price to get there.
     The truth is, I can't convince every girl in the world to love themselves for what's on the inside. That battle is old, and many people have tried to win it. But that doesn't mean I have agree with the belief that I have to love what I see on the mirror side of things. Now, on a daily basis, the only makeup I put on is mascara, but is makeup the only thing considered a beauty product? What about the products we use to minimize out acne? What about all the things you bought, and thought you would use, but they didn't work out the way you wanted?  There have been countless times where I have bought a different make up product thinking that I would love it, and after the first use it got discarded, because it was not what I wanted.  Girls spend countless amounts of money on new ways to make themselves feel pretty, such as tanning, waxing, going to the nail salon, getting our hair dyed once a month,plastic surgery, perfume, and filling bags with makeup products.
     The Cosmetic Industry makes over 42 billion dollars a year on skin care products and make up alone. Not to mention the 10.2 billion spent of plastic/cosmetic surgeries every year. This equates to over 52 billion dollars spent on trying to make ourselves beautiful. Why is that? Because the world of women is nothing, but a game of who's better. It always has been. Except for the exceptional few, the whole population of women in the United States is fighting with each other to be prettier, to be noticed more, to get guy's attention.
     On some one's wedding day, everyone is focused on the brides beauty. How incredibly beautiful she looks, and elegant, and all the attention is focused on her. Every woman out there wishes she could get this kind of attention. Where no matter what she is the most beautiful, but in reality life is like prom. In the weeks leading up to prom girls prepare by getting the most beautiful dress, by getting the most amazing accessories, by getting the best makeup. On Prom day, they scramble all day to look their best, they are competing with everyone else to look and feel the best. Why? Because they know they will be judged as soon as the pictures are uploaded, they arrive, and their appearance is shown to the world. This is how life is for women right now, we are in a never ending competition to look the best. But what if we turned around, and said no? I will not try to live up to every one's beauty standards. I will be who I want to be, and makeup can not get me there, for my success will not be measured in beauty increments, but by how far I go in life, how I treat others, and how I see myself when I look in the mirror from now on.
   

My Best Friends

     Ever since I was born, there has been a dog in my life. When I was born, my parents had a pitbull named Molly, then came along a mut named Bergan, then we had a yellow labrador named Hunter, and now we have two yellow labradors named Sandy and Silas, and two yorkies named Ollie and Fred. Dogs have been a huge part of my life. In so many ways they have taught me things like looks can be deceiving, to be loyal to your friends, and trust your instincts.
     As a child, I was never afraid of dogs, but I had a little cousin who was scared to death of my dog, Hunter. She would never get more than 5 feet away from Hunter, and she would run away if he tried to go towards her. Finally, I told her that even though he may look scary to her, he is one of the nicest dogs on earth. She eventually got over her irrational fear of Hunter, and they became very good friends. This taught me that looks can be deceiving. A dog that looks like it would rip you to shreds could, in fact, be the nicest dog on the planet. I took this realization and applied it to how I see people. I try my hardest to not make assumptions based on people's appearances, but that isn't always the easiest thing to do.
     Another thing that my dogs have taught me is to be loyal to your friends. I know for a fact that my dog Sandy would never betray me, except for maybe a Beggin Strip. No matter what happens, Sandy will always love me, and I will always love her. We are best friends, and the time that I have spent with her has taught me that if I want that type of relationship with a human, then I need to start with being loyal. Loyalty is what shows your friends and family that you are there for them whenever and wherever. Because my dog is loyal to me, I can trust her to stay with me when we go places. She is an unchanging figure in my life, and I try my hardest to replicate that in myself when around my friends. When you think you've lost everything, take a good look around, I guarantee your dog will still be there, full of love and admiration.
     Dogs have an uncanny ability to sense that something is wrong. Although there is no scientific evidence supporting dogs can sense danger, or dangerous people more accurately than humans can,  I believe that they can.  Our dogs bark when somebody comes to the door, but when out in public they love the attention that they get from others. It is very out of character for them to growl or raise their hackles at people, so something must be wrong if they are showing these behaviors. They trust their instincts when it comes to others. To cut things short, trust your initial instincts of a situation or person, before you let the mental chatter in your mind tell you you're wrong. Your gut instinct is usually correct.
     Dogs are a huge part of every one's lives.  There's no telling when, where, or why, you will encounter a dog, and subconsciously learn something from them. A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, once said "Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem." If your dog bristles when a certain someone comes around, why not listen?