You claim that you carefully chose an outfit, took time on your hair, wore your best shoes, and did your makeup this morning because it “makes you feel good to look good.” You claim that you do it for yourself because it makes you happy. But is that true?

If you were the last person on earth, with nobody around to impress, would wearing makeup make a difference? Would wearing nice clothes even matter? Would your expensive shoes be worth it?

A lot of us don’t realize that we aren’t really living for ourselves and for our happiness. We are living to please others; for their approval, their compliments, and their attention. That approval makes us feel so good, that it becomes our own happiness.

The other day I was looking at a boy in class who many would probably describe as the “nerdy” type. I thought to myself, the popular girl wouldn’t even look twice at him. But why? Is she better than him because they fall in a different rank on the social popularity system? Is he not impressive enough for her to look his way? Does he not please the eyes of society? If he had a lot of money, would she give him a chance?

These are some of the thoughts I pondered on these past few weeks. What really makes us happy? Why do we spend so much time worrying about our appearance? Why do we spend so much time picking out the right photo to post on Instagram? Why do we spend hundreds of dollars on one pair of sneakers? Why do we give all of our money to name brands? Why do we overlook the people that would love us the most because they don’t fit in with society’s ideal standards? Why does it matter?

My next question is, are you happy when you get it? When you get the pretty girl with the nice body or the man with all the money, are you really happy? When you get that car that was too expensive and the big house you really couldn’t afford, are you happy? Or does it just feel good to know that you fit in? To know that you look cool to your peers.

Now what happens when you start living for your own happiness? What happens when you don’t land that big job with the big name, but instead go after your passion? What happens when you spend your money on something other than the latest makeup palette or designer shoes? What happens when the goal is not to be famous, but to share your talents with the world simply because you love the feeling of making people FEEL through your work? What happens when you date the person that doesn’t fit in with society’s expectations? What happens when you stop overlooking the people that didn’t look the part to be in your friends group but genuinely have good hearts?

Would you be happy? Would you find true friends? Would you find your soulmate?

What happens when you start living for YOUR happiness and not the happiness that stems from pleasing others? What happens when you give all that stuff up and you don’t get the compliments or the attention you usually get? (From people that most likely didn’t care about you or your wellbeing anyway).

Would you be fulfilled? Or will not being like society rip away your self-esteem and happiness?

xo, Brittany Kayla