The Real Measure of Beauty

It has been a while since I bought a fashion magazine and oh how I miss their glossy pages and colorful pictures.  I don't have a particular magazine that I collect, as long as the topics are interesting I will buy it.  Just this afternoon, I bought my first magazine for 2010 and I bought two copies for the price of one.  The lucky magazine that caught my attention was Mega.  The March 2010 cover was Rhian Ramos and the deal of the purchase is one back issue that covers Ruffa Gutierrez for July 2009.  Naturally I had to start with the 2009 issue and an article about the 20 definitions of beauty, as compiled by Rebecca Rodriguez, was interesting.  In her pretext, she cited Emily Dickinson's quote about beauty, "Beauty is not caused, it is."  In today's era where beauty is almost and always hidden under a pile of goo and enhanced medically and digitally, it is becoming difficult to define beauty.  "Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder," so as they say, but to mere mortals, what does it really mean?

Here are some answers of randomly selected individuals from different backgrounds and industries:

"Beautiful to me, is finding perfection in the imperfection.  It is in the flaws that I find a person more interesting to look at."  Xeng Zulueta - Make-up Artist

"Being beautiful is accepting your real self--zits, bad memory, some flab and all--but also having the desire to be the best that you can be even if it means countless trips to the derma, taking some pills and doing crunches every morning."  Nino Mark Sablan - Writer

"True beauty is something the eyes will not always see but what the heart and mind will always remember." Rissa Mananquil - Model and Columnist

"Beautiful is when you learn to accept yourself for your limitation and if you're able to maximize your potential.  It is the constant appreciation and respect for yourself and the people around you.  It is a choice."  Cooky Chua - Lead Singer, Color It Red

 Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. She was born, according to Hesiod, when Cronus cut off Ouranos' genitals and threw then into the sea, and from the sea foam (where she was named after) arose Aphrodite.  Even the goddess herself doesn't look magazine cover worthy if you will compare her to the beautiful women that graced the covers of every known magazine in the world.  Reviewing Aphrodite's bio, swans are sacred to her.  I remember the story of the ugly duckling who couldn't find a niche in the family of ducks because of being different or ugly.  She ran away from her "family" and her journey towards finding her identity and place in the world turned and formed her into a beautiful swan.  I think that is the best story ever told about what real beauty is all about.  Metaphor or not of Hans Christian Andersen's life... the story should be told to every little girl before they are introduced to what beauty is in the eyes of man.  

To end this, if you think you are beautiful, you definitely are.