Life and Cosmetics

I was driving around tonight, thinking about how easy it is for people to look however they want on the outside. Not every aspect... but hair color comes in bottles, you can get a haircut, girls wear makeup. Wear a hat, put on some clothes from whatever stereotype you want to fit, and you're it. It almost doesn't even matter if you're fat, skinny, or what your nationality is and how you speak.

But then I asked myself, what is the purpose of this? Why do people have a need to look a certain way? The answer was pretty much in the question itself... because everyone has an expectation of it. Maybe people want an easy way to identify someone just by looking at them, instead of striking a conversation with them, considering that to be a waste of time. That sounds similiar to social networking sites, where you have the ability to create and join groups of similiar interests to instantly hook up with someone who is into the same things you are... or so it seems, on the outside. The problem pops up again of actually getting to talk to somebody in that group and finding out that the ONLY thing you have in common is you like the same band, author, or state.

The answer is deeper than that. People strive to look a certain way because everyone's opinion matters to them. That is the very nature of this topic. Why would someone want to dress up in the latest fashion, with the coolest hair style and the most expensive car... unless they planned on being seen, acknowledged, and all of the other "positive" attention they crave.

Why is this so important to people to change their lifestyle to fit the opinions of people who don't know you? I say it like this because in my opinion, people who do know you and do continue to have any kind of a relationship with you is doing so because they like who you are on the inside. Somehow, it has come to them talking to you for more than 30 seconds, enjoying the conversation/activity, and taking a chance at enjoying the next encounter. So, if there are 15 people that you talk to on a regular basis, why care about the other 99.999% of the people that you don't know, don't talk to, and aren't interested in seeing again once you walk out of Wal*Mart?

This kind of came about because of my own insecurities, I think. Sometimes I worry about what people will think of my hair, teeth, clothes...even if they don't like the way my deodarant smells I'm instantly subject to getting brushed off. The proverbial finger. My problem is I am interested in knowledge. I don't want to be ignorant, and I like talking with people, picking their brain about anything and everything, seeing what they find interesting and learning something new about that... in short, I enjoy learning about PEOPLE.

Thanks to the rest of the world for the ever popular opinion that people that don't fit their stereotype aren't worth anyone's time. Thanks a lot. Life goes on though.