Shelby+C’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2016


 * A Comfortable America **

“Beauty is pain,” probably the worst phrase my mother has ever told me. Why the hell should I be obligated to pluck my eyebrows, stand on my toes all day, thus ruining my arch, and where a constricted piece of fabric around my chest, in order to look “attractive” or “socially acceptable?”

Reversing back to my elementary school self, all that was on my mind….well in all honesty I cannot quite remember, but I know one thing for sure, it was not the acceptability of my appearance. Basically if you look at any photo of me from the time period between third and fifth grade I continually wore those long, awful AYSO soccer shorts, that were borderline basketball shorts, and my sisters resented them. I was continually told that it was an awful fashion choice and that once I looked back on it in a few years I would greatly regret the decision. Well to be fair, it has been several years later and yet I still don’t care.

I am afraid as Americans we have our priorities in the wrong place. Why all of a sudden are elementary school students expected to look cute and similar to the fashionable little kids plastered all over Pinterest? Why does it matter? Why are we expected to look and dress a certain way in order to be ‘acceptable’ to society?

I personally for quite some time did not care; however, as time proceeded and the constant pestering from my sisters continued, I found myself growing self-conscious. I all of sudden felt the need to conform more accordingly to the ways of society and look more presentable, but why? What is it all for? A simple “I like your dress” or “you’re hair looks good today” compliment? Not necessarily.

It is my believe that as humans we are hardwired to be accepted, which then leads to us dressing a certain way and going about life in a certain pattern in order to achieve an overall goal of approval. The issue with that is is that we then are not living for ourselves but for others. We then spend a fair amount of time within our lives worrying about what others think, which then leads back to the idea of self-consciousness.

It was found within a study by Leah Somerville at Harvard University that when adolescents were watched, or experienced even the anticipation of being watched, the act resulted in “self-conscious emotional responses” that could then “influence behavior” (Casey). Therefore, revealing how the “famously self-conscious” teenager operates (Casey). In other words, it portrays that beginning at the stage of adolescents people begin to tailor their behavior to situations in order to uphold a reputation or appropriation. They alter their personality, even just slightly, in a way that they feel it will then allow them to be accepted. I mean we have all seen a movie or two where there is a new guy or girl at a new school and they feel awkward and then occasionally attempt alter their personality and the way they speak and the way the dress in order to fit in. The sad thing about that is is that the movie then result with that same person finding themselves in an abyss of lies and in the end finally revealing who they truly are, I mean just think of Camp Rock.

However to rope this back into clothing, we often decide what we wear if we believe that it will gain us approval, even if we are aware of that or not, which then results in us feeling self conscious. We question if we are wearing the right thing, or if our shirt looks okay, or if the dress we are wearing is too short, and honestly it’s annoying. I dislike the fact that the majority of people will only ever wear their pajamas in their house, because they realize that no one is “watching them” there. I dislike that if someone were to show up in public wearing said pajamas or sweatpants they would be viewed as lazy or sluggish with the inability to “make an effort.” We watch each other and judge each other and in a way it’s what has led to our nationwide epidemic of self-consciousness.

Therefore I believe that an ideal America would be one that is free of judgement. More specifically I want a comfortable America, one where the masses are more concerned about comfort than about looks. One where people can wear pajamas or workout clothes or high heels or even scrubs to school or out in public, if it truly makes them comfortable, free of judgement. One where little kids are not taught from a young age to dress or look a certain way or to even look down upon others who do not dress or look the same as them. One where those self-conscious adolescents do not feel a sort of need to change who they are when others are around, watching them. Ultimately I desire an America where a young kid who only wants to where those AYSO soccer shorts to school, because she hated pants at the time, is not be pestered about her decision.

It is stated even within our National Anthem that we live within the “land of the free,” but what we lack is not the freedom from restriction, necessarily, but the freedom from each other. In other words we hold each other back and put each other down. What we need is an America where we are free from our conformed minds and we must begin to lift each other up. Someday I hope that our America is built of a society where the statement “don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” is not simply a saying that people don’t put into practice like it is today, but rather a virtue in which the masses follow. Furthermore, I wish that the coveted statement “beauty is pain” would one day be transformed into “beauty is comfort.” Only then can we as a people feel comfortable leaving the makeup, heels, ties, and cologne at home and finally have a universal feeling of comfort within our own God given skin.

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 * Sources: **
 * Casey, B.J.; Dyke, Jonathan; Glover, Gary; Jones, Rebecca; and Ruberry, Erika. “Teens’ Self-Consciousness Linked With Specific Brain, Physiological Responses.” Association of Psychological Science. Association of Psychological Science, 2 June 2013. Web. 30 May 2016.
 * Key, Francis Scott. “The Star-Spangled Banner.” //The Yale Book of American Verse//. The Elizabethan Club, 1912. Web. 12 March 2016.