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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Drama
- Published: 09/17/2018
What's real beauty?
Born 1999, M, from Chennai, IndiaI am nervous. Really nervous. I’ve not given a speech on stage before in my entire life. And now, today, I am going to give a speech in front of a crowd of over 2000 people.
“Jennifer!”. My school principal called me in a husky voice.
“Go up there, it’s time for your speech”.
And for starters, no, I am not a kid. I am a mom, a grown adult woman, yet, who has never been on stage before.
“Hello Everyone. I’m Jennifer. I feel really overwhelmed to stand before you all, who have glorified this annual day event of our school by your gracious presence. I take it as an absolute honour to give a speech about the topic, “Beauty is in the heart.”
“Do you think I am pretty mom?”, my 15 year old daughter asked me.
“Of course you are, honey”. I smiled.
“No. I am not. You are lying”.
“What’s gotten into my girl today?”, I asked her empathetically.
“You know, my friend, Jen. I think she is more pretty than me. Why was I born black?”, she sulked.
“What if you are black? You are still pretty”. I told her.
“And, you know what honey, real beauty is not in the face, it’s in the heart”.
My daughter sulked more.
This is very unusual character which she never projects. An usually cheerful, joyful, full of fun little girl is worried about her appearance. She is not even an adult yet, and I could sense some inferiority complex within her regarding her appearance.
We finished dinner in silence , which was again, unusual because she spends most of her time telling how her day was.
“Get ready for bed, honey”.
I went in to tuck her in, but I knew she wasn’t ready to sleep yet. She needed some explanation, something to reaffirm her that she is pretty.
“Do you want to talk?”, I asked her.
“What did you mean, when you said, Beauty is in heart, not in face, Mom?”.
“Well, I meant that, um, inner beauty is more important than appearance. Or, as they say, Beauty is not in how pretty your face is, but on how pure your heart is”.
My daughter nodded along. I didn’t knew if she understood it or anything. But what I knew was, it was my job to make her understand the real meaning of beauty.
Let me tell you a short story now. This is a story about two girls, two very different girls living under the same roof. One girl is Tina, another is Rina.
While Tina is a very rich daughter of a powerful businessman, Rina is a daughter of the maid that works in Tina’s house. Tina is not only rich, but also extremely attractive and cute, while Rina is rather...say...mediocre looking.
“I want a grand Christmas dad”. Tina asked her parents.
“Sure thing. That’s what we are going to do now, to buy you a grand dress”. Her dad replied.
“Hop in, Rina. We’ll get something for you too.”
“Wow!!! That’s a beautiful dress Daddy. I so need it!!!!!!” Tina exclaimed in happiness looking at a particular dress.
“How much does it cost?”.
“100$ sir”. The seller replied.
“Rina, have you chosen yours yet”?
“I’ll take this one, Uncle”.
“That’s so gross. You won’t look good in that. And it’s so cheap. Try something else”. Tina prompted Rina.
“I’m fine with this”. Rina replied, smiling.
I halted the story at that point.
“Now, tell me my girl, what do you think of the two girls”?
“I think...um...Tina is lucky because she is rich and also beautiful.”
“Well, then, let me continue now the story”.
There was another little girl by the streets, wearing torn clothes, very dirty, clearly devoid of proper intake of food. She was there when the two girls, Rina and Tina, walk past her, holding new clothes in their hands.
“Dad, you want to give her some money?”. Tina asked her father.
“Yes, I am going to honey. It’s only fair.” Tina’s Dad went ahead and gave the girl a few dollars.
In a couple of days, Christmas arrived and everyone was wearing new clothes, and especially Tina, was very excited about her little dress.
“Wow!!!!! I look great in this. Thank you so much daddy!!!!!” Tina exclaimed in joy and kept running around.
“Where is Rina anyway?”, asked her Dad.
Rina showed up slowly, not in her new dress, but her old dull clothes.
“Why are you wearing this? Where’s the new dress? Go and wear it.” Tina’s dad ordered her.
“I don’t have it uncle”. Rina replied.
“Why? Where is it?”.
“I gave it to the girl”.
“What girl?”.
“The girl we met on our way back home. To whom you gave a few dollars.”.
“Why did you do that? I bought that for you.”
“I know Uncle. But from what I saw, she needed a new dress to wear more than a few dollars”. Rina replied.
Now, I looked at my daughter again.
“Now, tell me, honey. What do you think about the story now?
“Well, I think...Rina was very generous with her act, but, given that she is not that rich either, shouldn’t she have kept the dress to herself?”.
“That’s the difference honey.”
“Difference between what?”.
“That’s the difference between having a pretty face and a pure heart”.
“Thank you, mom”. My daughter smiled and dosed off to sleep.
Now, it’s not just kids that should learn from that story. It’s us, adults as well. We all are living in a world where an hourglass body shape and glowing skin tone is considered beauty. But is it? No. Not even close. We all see a lot of “Tina’s” in our life. But where are all the “Rinas?”. We ignore them. This world ignores people who have a beautiful heart but rather worships people who have a pretty face.
Real beauty has nothing to do with appearance, but everything do with your heart. Real beauty is in giving up something to make other’s life beautiful. Real beauty is when humanity wins over other unwanted social inequalities. Real beauty is not in the colour of the skin tone, but rather in the purity of the heart.
Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to give a speech on this wonderful day."
I stepped down the podium hoping that I made a change, at least in one of the persons in there.
What's real beauty?(Vaibhav)
I am nervous. Really nervous. I’ve not given a speech on stage before in my entire life. And now, today, I am going to give a speech in front of a crowd of over 2000 people.
“Jennifer!”. My school principal called me in a husky voice.
“Go up there, it’s time for your speech”.
And for starters, no, I am not a kid. I am a mom, a grown adult woman, yet, who has never been on stage before.
“Hello Everyone. I’m Jennifer. I feel really overwhelmed to stand before you all, who have glorified this annual day event of our school by your gracious presence. I take it as an absolute honour to give a speech about the topic, “Beauty is in the heart.”
“Do you think I am pretty mom?”, my 15 year old daughter asked me.
“Of course you are, honey”. I smiled.
“No. I am not. You are lying”.
“What’s gotten into my girl today?”, I asked her empathetically.
“You know, my friend, Jen. I think she is more pretty than me. Why was I born black?”, she sulked.
“What if you are black? You are still pretty”. I told her.
“And, you know what honey, real beauty is not in the face, it’s in the heart”.
My daughter sulked more.
This is very unusual character which she never projects. An usually cheerful, joyful, full of fun little girl is worried about her appearance. She is not even an adult yet, and I could sense some inferiority complex within her regarding her appearance.
We finished dinner in silence , which was again, unusual because she spends most of her time telling how her day was.
“Get ready for bed, honey”.
I went in to tuck her in, but I knew she wasn’t ready to sleep yet. She needed some explanation, something to reaffirm her that she is pretty.
“Do you want to talk?”, I asked her.
“What did you mean, when you said, Beauty is in heart, not in face, Mom?”.
“Well, I meant that, um, inner beauty is more important than appearance. Or, as they say, Beauty is not in how pretty your face is, but on how pure your heart is”.
My daughter nodded along. I didn’t knew if she understood it or anything. But what I knew was, it was my job to make her understand the real meaning of beauty.
Let me tell you a short story now. This is a story about two girls, two very different girls living under the same roof. One girl is Tina, another is Rina.
While Tina is a very rich daughter of a powerful businessman, Rina is a daughter of the maid that works in Tina’s house. Tina is not only rich, but also extremely attractive and cute, while Rina is rather...say...mediocre looking.
“I want a grand Christmas dad”. Tina asked her parents.
“Sure thing. That’s what we are going to do now, to buy you a grand dress”. Her dad replied.
“Hop in, Rina. We’ll get something for you too.”
“Wow!!! That’s a beautiful dress Daddy. I so need it!!!!!!” Tina exclaimed in happiness looking at a particular dress.
“How much does it cost?”.
“100$ sir”. The seller replied.
“Rina, have you chosen yours yet”?
“I’ll take this one, Uncle”.
“That’s so gross. You won’t look good in that. And it’s so cheap. Try something else”. Tina prompted Rina.
“I’m fine with this”. Rina replied, smiling.
I halted the story at that point.
“Now, tell me my girl, what do you think of the two girls”?
“I think...um...Tina is lucky because she is rich and also beautiful.”
“Well, then, let me continue now the story”.
There was another little girl by the streets, wearing torn clothes, very dirty, clearly devoid of proper intake of food. She was there when the two girls, Rina and Tina, walk past her, holding new clothes in their hands.
“Dad, you want to give her some money?”. Tina asked her father.
“Yes, I am going to honey. It’s only fair.” Tina’s Dad went ahead and gave the girl a few dollars.
In a couple of days, Christmas arrived and everyone was wearing new clothes, and especially Tina, was very excited about her little dress.
“Wow!!!!! I look great in this. Thank you so much daddy!!!!!” Tina exclaimed in joy and kept running around.
“Where is Rina anyway?”, asked her Dad.
Rina showed up slowly, not in her new dress, but her old dull clothes.
“Why are you wearing this? Where’s the new dress? Go and wear it.” Tina’s dad ordered her.
“I don’t have it uncle”. Rina replied.
“Why? Where is it?”.
“I gave it to the girl”.
“What girl?”.
“The girl we met on our way back home. To whom you gave a few dollars.”.
“Why did you do that? I bought that for you.”
“I know Uncle. But from what I saw, she needed a new dress to wear more than a few dollars”. Rina replied.
Now, I looked at my daughter again.
“Now, tell me, honey. What do you think about the story now?
“Well, I think...Rina was very generous with her act, but, given that she is not that rich either, shouldn’t she have kept the dress to herself?”.
“That’s the difference honey.”
“Difference between what?”.
“That’s the difference between having a pretty face and a pure heart”.
“Thank you, mom”. My daughter smiled and dosed off to sleep.
Now, it’s not just kids that should learn from that story. It’s us, adults as well. We all are living in a world where an hourglass body shape and glowing skin tone is considered beauty. But is it? No. Not even close. We all see a lot of “Tina’s” in our life. But where are all the “Rinas?”. We ignore them. This world ignores people who have a beautiful heart but rather worships people who have a pretty face.
Real beauty has nothing to do with appearance, but everything do with your heart. Real beauty is in giving up something to make other’s life beautiful. Real beauty is when humanity wins over other unwanted social inequalities. Real beauty is not in the colour of the skin tone, but rather in the purity of the heart.
Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to give a speech on this wonderful day."
I stepped down the podium hoping that I made a change, at least in one of the persons in there.
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JD
09/17/2018In our current culture there seems to be very little appreciation for inner beauty as being above outer beauty, which I think is very sad. Stories like yours help people to stop and question their beliefs, and hopefully alter them to a focus on what matters most.... love, kindness, generosity, empathy, and the willingness to take positive action to change the lives of others for the better. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Vaibhav. : )
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