Thoughts on Appearance

[hkellick]

My appearance has been on my mind alot lately. What brought it on? A couple of things.
First of all, I saw a picture of myself taken my first day as a grad student, in a bills shirt I can't wear anymore and... CHRIST did my face look pudgy.
Second of all, was reading some of my friends' entires (specifically kareila and doubletake)

This may get long-winded, so for the benefit of people who whine and bitch when I write a long entry, I'll hide it.

It wasn't that long ago that I didn't care much for my appearance. To some extent, some might say I still don't. I still wear t-shirts (I like them.) and I still don't do anything about the occasional facial acne I get (too lazy).
But, all in all, I care alot more.
To some extent, it's what keeps me going to the gym. Because I now really want to lose that extra 36 lbs. and be able to say "Yep. I'm a healthy weight now. Woohoo!"
And then I'm thinking about trying to lose more and try and be thin, but I dunno if I can. Gotta get *TO* 200 first. And when I even talk about getting *TO* 200 now, my family has coniptions. it's like they think I'm going too far. :P
Am I vain? I don't think so. I'd just like to get to an actual HEALTHY weight. I know that I look better now than I've looked in years, but I wanna be able to, after all this, say I GOT to a healthy weight.

I'm drawn back to thoughts of an ex-girlfriend of mine. I'll protect the innocent, by not naming her, but describing her may clue some of you into who I mean.
I dated a girl who was... well, I'll be blunt, she was fat. Not pleasantly plump or slightly overweight, but really obese. And she had short short hair, never wore makeup and, otherwise, I just never felt that she cared about how she looked. And... I'll be honest, it totally turned me off. We ended badly and I haven't spoken to her since.
See, there's a big difference between someone who doesn't care about how they look and someone who does. Someone who doesn't care what they look like isn't just isn't going to be treated as well as someone who does.

I know, when i was really fat, I thought that my appearance didn't matter at all. And if it mattered to someone.. well, stuff them. They weren't important. But this doesn't work. Because appearances DO matter. First impressions mean everything in certain situations, like job hunting or trolling for a date and appearance is a good part of a first impression.
Don't delude yourselves, folks, how you look IS Important. The fact of the matter is that people who take care of themselves will get treated better than those who don't.

Understand. I'm not saying run home and spend three hours trying to do your hair just so and put on makeup to make you look ravishing or work three hours to fit into those size 32 jeans, because the majority of people AREN'T Supermodels, but to spend a little extra time to make sure you look presentable.
It's not that hard. Honestly. Even *I* can do it. Exercise weekly, eat properly, bathe, wear deoderant, wear nice clothes that fit, wear makeup when appropriate, shave (or at least keep facial hair neatly trimmed), comb/brush your hair etc.

The choice is yours. I'm here to tell you that it's worth it, but in the end, you have to find out/decide for yourself.

That's really all I have to say about that.
So I'll end.
Fin.

Comments

[lite.livejournal.com]

Indeed. That might be best for all. ;)
Me in a kilt is a.... scary thought.