Represent the Skin You’re In

There are many things in life we get to choose. We pick who our friends are, what jobs we take, who we marry, where we live, and numerous other things. But one thing we don’t choose is the color of our skin. Since we don’t pick how light or how dark the pigment of our skin is, shouldn’t we embrace it? Look at how many people tan. It’s a multi-billion dollar business, millions and millions of people all over the world tan and even pay to darken their skin. It also works on the complete opposite spectrum as well. I’ve known people including myself who have avoided sun exposure because I just didn’t want to alter my caramel skin complexion. It was just never appealing to me to be any darker than I had to be. Right or wrong, I just found myself better looking when I was lighter.

I know this is a personal preference and by no means do I intend to judge or condemn anyone who tans or chooses not to. My intention is to provoke thought and promote “skin awareness” if I may call it that. The bottom line is we are a generation of people who are just not that happy in our own skin. We have become a society of people who want to alter and change things that make us who we are. People who are skinny want to gain weight, people who are heavy want to lose weight, augmentations from breast jobs to nose jobs are extremely popular. We even artificially alter simple things such as eye lashes, nails, and hair. Do we do this for ourselves? Or is this just a feeble attempt to fit into a mold that media has created for us? I think before we begin to ask others to like and accept us, we must first like ourselves. I definitely promote change when a person wants to better themselves, especially by character. It’s time to start loving and embracing ourselves in our most humble and natural state. Let’s be proud of who we are and represent the skin we’re in.