Looks. Society both says they matter, and they don’t. Or rather, society says they don’t matter but behaves differently. Growing up I heard idioms like “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” or “Beauty is only skin deep.”
Yet I see people around me both spend time on beauty and reward beauty.
This really beings me to the question: is beauty actually important or not? Do we benefit from paying attention to our own and others appearance?
As with most things, I believe the answer isn’t black and white. Beauty can make people feel comfortable. While extremely bad looking people can be distracting. But can beauty distract as well?
Either way, I decided to dissipate some of my own obsession with my looks. I made myself look worse and then went to my favorite restaurant in Fort Myers, Mina’s Bistro. The workers know me here, and I plan on going back. So it was especially uncomfortable.
I enhanced my dark circle, gave myself a unibrow, and mustache.
Because I expected to look hideous, the resulting look didn’t shock me. In fact, I thought I looked exotic. Like a model. However, it was clear my family thought I looked worse. This reassured me that my plan was underway.
At Mina’s, I kept forgetting about my terrible face. But the few times I remembered, I felt self conscious. But, I reminded myself that people are uncomfortable when you are uncomfortable. So, I had to be extra confident and friendly to make up for my poor looks.
Overall, looking worse didn’t effect my night. I had a great time and mostly forgot how bad I looked. I think the challenge would be more difficult if I looked bad at a networking event. Next time!
The after picture is so hawt. Nice mustachio, young man.
Thank you. If I didn’t try it, I would never know how handsome I was.