Ohh boy. First 'serious' post incoming.
I was on StumbleUpon and came across this photo of a girl [it was on her blog I think] and she said she was pretty. Then there were comments saying she was vain and self-centered.
What the hell?
People just can't seem to win. No matter what we do or how we feel, there's always someone there to criticise you. This is so ridiculous, because despite the unnatural standards of beauty that society sets for us, there are people who tell us to "love ourselves". But when we do, we get called vain? Unacceptable.
There is nothing wrong with having pride in your appearance. I believe that thinking you look super gorgeous and feel beautiful is better than feeling ugly. But of course people will disagree. Because this is how society looks at it...
"I'm pretty!" = Vanity
"I'm ugly." = Modesty
So you're in safe territory if you call yourself ugly and put yourself down, but if you actually think you're good looking, you get called vain? Ridiculous. Outright vanity is narcissism. You think you're better and better looking than everyone else. You don't give a damn about anyone except yourself. I actually really can't stand narcissistic people. They need to get off their high horse and smell the roses.
Feeling/saying you are pretty is not vanity. It is self-confidence. There is a serious difference between the two. Some people like to blur the lines between vanity and self-confidence, which can be okay depending on how they use it. In the general context, vanity just means you have high pride in your appearance. That's perfectly okay to some people, including me. It is perfectly okay to think you are hot and sexy and gorgeous, as long as you don't step on other people and put them down because you think you're the hottest thing walking around.
So don't think that because you think you're gorgeous means that you're vain. It means that unlike a lot of other people, who feel like they're never good enough, that you are confident and comfortable with your appearance.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
