Remember the Human Barbie and Ken that made headlines in recent years for their efforts to look the actual Barbie and Ken dolls???? FYI, I loved played with Barbies as a young child in the 80’s and I never really thought too much of their plastic bodies and nor did I want to look like one. Even now as adult, I don’t see why some feel the need to look like this. For me, I find this a little unsettling. Look at the world we live in. Anything and everything we post on social media, there’s always a “Negative Nelly” aka critic that will bash someone for whatever reason. I’ve seen and heard about people being body shamed because they didn’t look skinny like celebrities are. Why look like one? I’ve seen people mom shamed by other moms over breastfeeding and the way they take care of their kids. Remember, it’s not your life, it’s theirs! And a lot of my young teenaged co-workers have experienced and know people who have been personally cyber-bullied.

I say: “Enough is Enough”. Live your life the way you want regardless of what people think about you. So what if you don’t have the perfect body. So what if people leave nasty comments about you on your social media. Who really cares? What really disturbs me the most is our fascination with social media and the fascination of looking like a Snapchat filter.

Again, I don’t do selfies. I will occasionally post a current photo of myself, but I still like my anonymity. I do have a Twitter, Instagram and a Facebook account and but not a Snapchat account. Maybe if I was still a teenager, then I would use it constantly. I admit that the “Dog Face” filter (I think that’s what it’s called? I’m old school by nature!) is cute because I have dogs, but would I get plastic surgery to look like one: HELL, NO! I’m not big into celebrities at all, I used to be. I do enjoy movies and music. But what I don’t follow are the Kardashians (not my cup of tea at all) and the unrealistic message that Hollywood preaches time and time about: “We must stay youthful. We devalue aging and we must look and stay perfect forever.” C’mon, really? We all age! Everyone ages differently than others. The real message that Hollywood and celebrities should be sending is: “Be proud of who you are and accept the way you look on the inside and outside.” Granted, there are some celebrities that feel the same way and others are obsessed with their looks (that’s called being vain).

One of the most disturbing trends now is “Snapchat Dysmorphia.” This is a new mental health condition classified with Body Dysmorphia Disorder that has been brewing for a while. Pretty much when this happens, people will go to the offices of plastic surgeons and tell them what they want done because they have very little self-esteem and self-confidence in themselves. They turn to plastic surgery to make themselves feel better. Typically, people who have low self-esteem and low self-confidence are usually….depressed. They’re unhappy with the way they look and their view of themselves become distorted.

Take a moment and take a good look in the mirror. What do you see? You should be seeing yourself, but really take a hard look at yourself. Examine and describe what you see and ask someone close to you the same question. If you see yourself in a healthy and flawed way, great. We all have flaws! Be proud of those imperfections. Even if those imperfections can include a scar on our faces or on our bodies, don’t be ashamed of them. However, if you look at yourself in a negative way, then you have a problem. Granted, I have a little scar on my eyelid from a dog that gave me a nice bite as a kid. It’s very small and unnoticeable to the naked eye, but is it worth getting cosmetic surgery over it. No. Even if I had a Carrie Underwood injury like she did last year, I would be a little self-conscious but I will still go on with my life and wear my scars proudly.

If you pay attention to the news, there are a lot of people between the ages of 17-24 years old that are so unhappy with the way they look that they get plastic surgery. When I was their age, I had NO money because I had two jobs and college that I paid for out-of-pocket. So my question is: “Where do these kids get all of this money to see a plastic surgeon let alone pay for the surgery?” I don’t know if you realize that plastic surgery is ungodly expensive and there’s so many complications that occur after you have plastic surgery. You can even die. Yes, you can die from those complications. Why take the chance when your life has just started getting good? The most requested things that surgeons get from their clients are: oversized freaky cartoonish eyes and lips, narrow jaw lines, and flawless skin. So basically you want to look like a scary cartoon version of yourself with no imperfections whatsoever on your smoother than a baby’s bottom face? Why?

Again, it’s your own life and you make your own choices whether they’re right or wrong. We learn by making mistakes. But if you do get it done, are you really happy with yourself? Do you now feel more confident and more beautiful than before?? Call me crazy, but I have a baby face and at 35, I’m happy with it. I’ve gotten used to the fact that I look like a teenager, but I’m half a teen’s age in reality. I’m not going to go to a surgeon’s office and say: “I want this and this done. Make me look beautiful.” Reality check, I look beautiful naturally and I’m happy with the way that I look. Sure, I will add a little makeup to enhance that my inner beauty, but that’s as far as it goes.

If I had a daughter in this day in the Digital Age, I would keep her off of social media or significantly limit and monitor her usage on social media. I would instill self-confidence and self-esteem in her. I would tell her she’s beautiful just the way God made her. Love your flaws and imperfections because they really say a lot about you and make you into the person that you are now. Don’t be pushed or influenced into getting plastic surgery because of social media and Hollywood’s unrealistic version of the “perfect woman or man with the perfect body.” Everyone is different. We all look and act different. Why be the same like everyone else? That’s boring. Be you and nothing better. I would even make her look in the mirror and tell me what she sees when she looks at herself and the list great qualities that she has. Stop obsessing over your body and stop being influenced by social media, you can already see the damage that has been done. Be proud of what you look like and who cares (I mean WHO CARES) what people think about you. It’s what you think of yourself that’s important. So go out there and live your best life without listening to shamers.