Focus by Salha

Focus by Salha - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

Beauty standards have always been a dark cloud weighing over my ten year old head. As the years went by and I got older, the cloud only seemed to get darker and rain harder. At 11, it my body that was "too big". At 12, my hair wasn't "straight enough". Come age 13, I had filled my heart and head with insecurities.
If I could give my past self one piece of advice, I'd tell her that her beauty did not determine her worth. It doesn't equivocate. I was so obsessed with the way that I looked that I didn't focus on my life of the components that truly mattered. I wish I would have focused on school more. As generic as that sounds, it's the truth and I didn't realize the reality of it until my sophomore year of high school.
It is not to say that I have completely stopped caring about the way I look. I've now realized there are so much more important concepts rather than beauty. Beauty will fade and not matter the second I get old and wither away. It is the meaningful accomplishments you make that will stay with everyone forever. She was worth more.