Celebrate Weird
Let’s admit it: We are a civilization obsessed with looks. You can’t help but shift your gaze to follow a perfect-10-supermodel-looking woman when she passes through the room. It’s downright impossible not to glance over when you’re walking by a reflective window or mirror. All forms of media are drenched in what is considered an ideal appearance, and a majority of our society eats it all right up.
But many people perhaps don’t fit into an ideal appearance — tall, thin, full hair, etc. And that’s when things start to get icky. It plays with your mind and ultimately your wallet. People buy what they think they need in order to fit the mold of what is considered attractive. Attractive equals successful equals happy equals you won at life.
However, there are still very, very few people who have met this endgame. Talk to an attractive person lately? They will find more things they don’t like about themselves than you could ever have dreamed. We are so weird.
Growing up as a too-tall, lanky brunette who developed a bit too early, I always had a hard time fitting into any appearance standards, and it didn’t help to have a gorgeous, smart, blond sister who got all the attention, from daycare until graduation. It wasn’t until I was in the Navy that I ever really got that kind of attention, and I’m going to go ahead and assume that was because the odds were in my favor.
Manipulating images we take is just plain fun. There are quite a few apps out there where you can really dig in.
I tried Hello, Gorgeous! and Perfect365 to whiten my teeth, narrow my eyes and clear up my skin. The results were hilarious. If this is what society considers attractive, then I’m fine with how I am.
My favorite image manipulator for the past few years has been an app called Chiizu (formerly called Mr. Chiizu). You can add stickers, cartoons, words, thought bubbles, ice cream cones or whatever to the images you take. It’s how I always add a birthday crown to my friends, or make last-minute fliers to post on Twitter and Instagram.
It’s a free app with a ton of cute themes, with a few paid ones as well. Once you get crafty with your photo, you can send it as a message, or directly to one of a thousand social media applications.
It’s one thing to try to bring out the beauty in someone; I like to celebrate the weird. It’s OK to be who you are, and if that is slightly off, then so be it.
There’s nothing a few hamburgers and googly-eyed monsters can’t fix.
@SUPERCW
Christa Wittmier is “SUPERCW” on all social media. Find her on Snapchat, Soundcloud, Twitter, Vine and Instagram. By night, she is known as DJ SuperCW. By day, she is known as senior marketing director for Young’s Market Company of Hawaii. Her nightlife blog SuperCity runs every Wednesday on HonoluluPulse. com.
