From "Ugly" to "Beautiful"

As I was watching TV today I saw a commercial for a new reality show called "Plain Jane." The point of this show is to take the "girl next door" and transform her from a plain Jane to a beautiful woman that attracts the guy she has had a crush on for a while. A few years ago there was a show called "Swan" or something like that. The purpose of that show was to transform a woman who is "ugly" or not as attractive as she wanted to be, and put her through surgery and diets so that she can be "beautiful" so that she is no longer the "ugly duckling" but is instead a "beautiful swan." I don't get why people make these shows. Sure maybe some people think that the show can help people realize that they can be beautiful..... In my opinion these shows are telling people that they need to change in order for other people to find them attractive. The TV show "Swan" is no longer around, in fact I think it only lasted for about two seasons. I'm glad that show is gone. It made me think that to be "beautiful" I would have to look a certain way, even though I knew better than that. I can't imagine how many women or even men were and are feeling that same way. As a teen I've noticed that I am self conscious. Most people are, and it doesn't matter whether your 14 or 53. It's a part of life, and it will never end. There will always be people who feel that way. These shows make it seem that if you have surgery and completely change the way you look, you will be happy with yourself and that you will be perfect. No one is perfect, and no amount of surgery or makeovers is going to completely change that. I think that to be happy and comfortable with how you look you first have to be happy and comfortable with how you feel. I think that people need to realize that beauty really does start from inside. Im not talking just about how you act towards others but how you act and treat yourself as well. If you act confident in yourself then that will shine through. I know that changing the way you look helps people feel better about themselves. Sometimes improving the way you look, as in loosing weight or dying your hair, really does make people feel better and thats great, sometimes its good to have a change. What I'm trying to say though, is that beauty doesn't come from a surgeon or from random people giving you makeovers. Beauty comes from within, it comes from those who made you who you are. Those shows make it seem like beauty can only look one way. I'm sorry, but they are wrong. Beauty comes in so many different shapes, sizes and colors. Have you ever heard the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" Well I find that, that saying holds true in my mind. When I was still in high school and sitting at lunch I would see couples all over the place. I'm not going to lie, sometimes I didn't think that some of those people were attractive, but the person they were with thought differently. Just because I don't find one person attractive doesn't mean you wouldn't, and just because you think one person isn't attractive doesn't mean I feel the same way. I think that everyone, in one way or another, is beautiful. I'll be completely honest with you; sometimes I look in the mirror and I don't like what I see, but that is normal.  Here's the thing, even though sometimes when I look in the mirror and I'm feeling down about how I look, I realize that someday I will meet a guy who looks at me and thinks "dang, what a hottie" and he will like me for me and not want to change a thing. Like I said before, beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. The difference between us is what makes us beautiful. Could you imagine if everyone looked the same? How boring would that be?