Beauty Speech

So I'm not sure if many of you have heard of a competition called the Jack Petchey speak out? Basically: the aim is to present a speech to your school (oooowh) about any topic you feel passionate about. At the time, I was a sixteen year old who was beyond self concious and hated every single thing about my body (even my elbows) So I decided to do my speech about beauty. I used to think I was good at public speaking and could provoke empathy from an audience... Anyway, nerves got the better of me and I spoke too quickly and incoherently ( I'm not going to blame someone I was competing against even though they listened to my speech the day before and changed her topic from smoking to 'beauty' over night and was the speaker before me... still holding that grudge but I don't think it was the sole reason.) One of my closest friends Helen, won and she definitely deserved it and came third nationally! 

This is my speech/rant about beauty, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a hypocrite; I still have insecurities and hate the way I look. However, sometimes I do remember what's more important and to appreciate that most girls feel the same. So next time you see someone with eyebrows that look like they've been sponsored by nike, ask yourself why she's changed them in the first place.

What is the definition of beauty?

Somebody with nice hair? Nice clothes?

It’s all about appearance. Isn't it?

Hair

Nails

Figure

Teeth

Shoes

Fashion

It’s all about appearance isn’t it?

No, it's not. You may want to think it’s that but it never well be.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” yet we’re all so blind because we only see beauty as skin deep. 

Who defines beauty? Who has the authority and the right to decide? We assume beauty is similarities.

Yet we all want to be unique? It makes no sense.

You can only be unique if your ugly?

Trends change.

We can make beauty seem like it is just about appearance but that’s what it will never be.

Be – beautiful.

 be it, show it, share it. It’s priceless so show your beauty.

How many times have you looked in the mirror and hated what you’ve seen more than what you’ve liked?

How many times have you seen the person you are and wished you could show more of your inner beauty?

Not as much as.

So because we all want to look “beautiful” we make others feel less;

We put them down, some of them so down that you’ll never see their inner beauty, because they’ll hate who they are so much they’ll wish to take their own lives.

I’ve been called so many things due to appearance but to be honest usually they just make me laugh; like the Bishop Ramsey uniform being hated by all other schools. So my appearance as part of a group is called ugly.  Brown and yellow is not a preference or mine, but it is who I am as a student. That makes me ugly though, right?

And there have been those times with little snipes at me:

Pale

Dark hair

Dark eyes

Its not that uncommon in Ireland but somehow, over here it's thought of as weird. If you think of it it could be though of as racism the fact that I’m judged by the colour of my skin. I don’t care.

I’ve been called many things, fat and recently a stick which angered me a little bit because of some of my health issues but I suppose those people knew me so well that they know everything about me.

Well I’m unique so I guess im ugly.

If we are all ugly, then no one is.

2000 people commit suicide each year just on appearance, excluding those with other issues. Maybe people like you haven’t bullied them, but also didn’t give them that confidence boost that they needed. Because they are all beautiful and everyone is. 80 teenagers commit suicide a day. 60 minutes and nearly half of our year will have not been able to cope any more feeling ugly.

A quarter of a million people kill themselves based on their appearance each year and they add to the total of 786,000 who commit suicide each year. These people aren’t dying of hunger or war.

But their pure desperation to go to someone who sees everyone as beautiful; God.

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - Samuel 16:7

Lets forget about appearance, let's love each other not for what we seem like but for what we are and what we can all be; beautiful.