BEAUTY…a word we throw around daily in our lives but what does this word really mean? The dictionary defines beauty as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” Should beauty only be what we see with the naked eye?

Personally beauty has to be more than how a person looks on the outside; the shape of their face, make-up or piercing, the size of your clothes etc. To me, beauty has to be how you carry yourself, love yourself and treat others who you approve or don’t approve off. Beauty is the way you show compassion and empathy to a stranger you don’t know.

If we look at the deeper meaning of this word then we can shift away from attributing it to just the way we look.

Being from Ghana, a country in Western Africa, one of the characteristics of a woman to be a beauty is to have a curvaceous body. It is a sign of good health, wealth and great status. Example… You haven’t seen a friend in a while and when you see her she’s gained weight. It is acceptable to say “What have you been eating! You gained weight and you look so beautiful: life must be good.” This is a big compliment in Ghana. But in America where I live now, it is not acceptable to say these words to anyone.

This example alone shows that beauty means different things to different people. Let’s start thinking about what this word means to us as individuals, and realize that beauty transcends the physical and delves into your psychological and spiritual health.