Your appearance. What does it say about you? Are you happy with it? Many people spend hours and hours perfecting themselves (and that's just for school) while others are just happy with brushing their hair and rushing out in the mornings. Either way, no-one should ever feel judged based on their looks yet the answer is so so many of us do...and it's an inevitable factor. Now, what can be blamed for this reason? The most obvious answer is the media of course but what people don't also think about are your surroundings. People around you can also contribute to negative opinions about yourself and it doesn't even have to be intentional- for example when you're watching a celebrity and everyone around you is frequently picking out their looks wishing they had their features. It is all very well admiring a celebrity but when comparisons start being made it is not a healthy route to go down on. Over 1.6 million people in the UK are estimated to be directly affected by eating disorders- this may seem a lot but the sad truth is this is likely to be an underestimate as we all know there is a huge level of unmet need in society. However the common stereotype that eating disorders only affect woman is a ridiculous lie; although anorexia most commonly affects girls and women, in recent years it has also become common in boys and men. Shockingly, the increase in the number of people diagnosed with this disorder was more pronounced in males with numbers rising to 27 percent. This could be due to a number of things; the popularity of seeing shirtless men on the media with perfectly toned muscles or society not accepting them just for the way they look which is the worst thing in this ever-growing world; instead of going forwards in time it seems we are going backwards with people's judgements and narrow-mindedness. Not just this but appearances don't always have to be about body weight; for example different cultures' preferences. What I mean by this is some cultures have a set idea of beauty and how one must look to be seen as 'desirable' in that society. For instance, in Asian cultures, both Northern and Southern, the aspiration of having light skin is very popular. The lengths that people would go to acquire that goal can sometimes be extreme and the associations of having darker skin is always either met with a frown or countless suggestions of 'remedies' you could try. This can be very horrible to those who don't fit this criteria and really makes me wonder why is there a criteria in the first place? Why can we not just be happy in our own skins and just stop with all the criticisms and judgements that are fuelling the world to be a place of self-hate and insecurity. The overall message of this article is for you as a reader to let go of the little imperfections you hold on to because at the end of the day we should only be looking to please ourselves- not anybody else