Flaws Are Beautiful

I think that we can all agree that middle school is an awkward time in most peoples’ lives. We are all changing mentally and physically, and we are attempting to find our true selves. We may not yet know exactly where we belong or exactly why we were put on this planet. We are trying to find our real friends and our real interests. I, for one, am confused, lost, sad sometimes, happy other times, but mostly I am just trying to find my way down this really rocky path called teenage hood. 

I think one of the biggest problems in our generation is that we all hide our problems from one another. We want people to think that we have this perfect life with no flaws, and even during a difficult time like middle school, we pretend that we are totally fine, and that nothing feels weird or awkward. We post pictures on social media that show our perfect selves living our perfect lives. Something about this has felt really wrong to me. I have found that by hiding our flaws, we are making each other feel even worse about ourselves. This is because when we feel sad or lost, we believe that we are alone. We think that we are the only people that experience these feelings, but in reality, everyone does! We are all just doing a great job of faking it. We all say to ourselves, “Oh my gosh, look at them, look at their pictures, they have perfect lives” But, here’s the secret– no one does! We all just try to hide the flaws in our lives, but do you know what? The flaws are what help people connect and bond with each other! Knowing someone’s flaws can stop you from envying that person and you can start to see them in a more real way. I have experienced “hating” people because they seem so perfect, but I have learned that nobody is perfect; we all just feel the need to portray ourselves in that manner.

In addition, I believe that knowing someones’ flaws helps me to develop more respect for them. For example, when I truly admire a celebrity, and then read an article on a struggle they have experienced throughout their life, I automatically think, “Wow, their life isn’t perfect, and they’re not hiding their flaws like other people do. How cool!” In movies and books, I gain respect for characters because you see all angles of their lives; the good and the bad. We should be able to share all elements of our lives with each other, and we should not be ashamed of the flaws in our lives because we need to learn that flaws are included in everyones’ life no matter how perfect they may seem.

To conclude, do you want to change how you want to portray  your life? Are you ready to share parts of yourself that are the real parts, parts that you’ve hidden to keep your perfect self showing? This is how I started: I opened up to my friends about my insecurities, life problems, and things that aren’t neccesarily my favorite aspects of my life. Then, guess what??? They did the same!  And it has truly strengthened our friendships. I encourage you to not try as hard to fake a perfect life, and to accept the fact that nobody’s life is perfect. 

So, share a flaw with a friend! Try it and see what happens. They may share one with you. When I started to do this, my whole outlook regarding myself and others changed forever. We all became more real. 

Good Luck!

Love, Jillian