The Beauty of Life

I'm still in shock, despite my few hours of hanging out with my good friend Jessie. About six hours ago now, I was talking to a voice from the past. Not talking, exactly, more like IMing, and it hasn't been that long since I've talked to him...last year at the most beautiful college ever, James Madison University, I had the privilege of meeting a wonderful boy named Ken. The classic pretty boy who just happened to enjoy walking (or, when it was extremely cold, hitching a ride) to church with me. I will not divulge any more than that for now, but let me just say that we stopped talking to each other sometime over the summer for reasons unknown, most likely because we knew we would not see each other any time soon! I suppose I am making a big deal out of something very ordinary, but you need to understand that though I am often very melodramatic, there are times when I become completely overwhelmed by the littlest events.
This weekend has proven very unusual for me, including Thursday night. Cru/ultimate frisbee night is generally interesting, but this time Jessie decided to let me go solo. I went with Michael Rice to Taco Cabana to hang out with some of the crukids and we got to talking about that wonderful institution that is JMU, among other things. He now knows my great prom story, possibly the best story I know! I just need to say that it was so great to just hang out with a bunch of guys, sometimes I'm tired of feeling constrained to converse with girls simply because I'm one of them. Since I grew up playing with boys for at least the first five years of my life, it's relieving when I can be with those of the male persuasion. Girls are just too emotional for me, plus I really don't like fighting for the spotlight (which always happens with a group of females)! Most people assume that I'm the girly girl, but I really think that's based more on appearance than anything else.
This topic of appearance concerns me. As I stare at my James Dean stamp from Michael, I am reminded that the only reason he is so appealing to me is because he was so ruggedly handsome! A shampoo commercial runs quite regularly poses a good question: How long have we been chasing someone else's idea of beauty? The girls I am closest to at this school have decided to go on a diet with the hopes of losing ten to twenty pounds. This baffles me, the nutrition major, because first off, diets simply do not work. Secondly, who told them that skinny is beautiful? Thin does not equal pretty! Personality is infinitely more attractive than physical appearance. This is coming from a girl who used to dress for gym in the bathroom every day. One girl on my floor apparently still does this, which is very disturbing! No, I will not mention names, primarily because I do not know her name, but I must say that there is no reason why she cannot change in her own room. God formed our bodies for a purpose, why fight it? Now, I'm not completely satisfied with my own body yet, but there is no perfect body here on earth. Not even those underwear models who, I assure you, are airbrushed. Matthew 6:25 says, "Do not worry...about your body, what you will wear." It's not worth your time worrying about your appearance, God can see past all that makeup!
Your anti-diet drama queen,
Anna