I see a lot of people trying to get rid of their skin marks and colour. I see a lot of them on YouTube and Pinterest telling me to get white or remove my marks. That made me baffled. What, certainly, is so interesting to you that it must be removed? Is white the absence of dirt, or is black the presence of dirt?
If someone tries to change their skin just to boost their confidence by being seen by others, it is indeed a fake kind of confidence—because what actually matters is attitude. People might come up to you and call you fat if you are, but if you've got a brain, you might say, "You're pathetic, that's why you bring others down to feel higher. You seem very pathetic."
Looks are not what others see in you; it's what you perceive of yourself by your own judgment. It is okay to have a routine, to do exercise in the early morning or calisthenics in your bedroom—but to do something for someone's approval will never work, because it is dynamic.
One thing I feel is attractive is a person who knows what to do. You never feel attracted to someone who always sticks to your opinion. You want someone to oppose you sometimes—and they have to be right at times—because winning gives pride, a kind of prestige that says: "I'm worth having in your life too." I tried to be that kind. My body shape was a pear, apple, or oval—I never minded, because it didn't matter when I spoke facts about the world, knew a few things ahead of group decisions, or when I adamantly rejected people. They loved it when I rejected them straight. They yearned for my right. I found it amusing. I liked this tea; I wanted them to spill more.
I didn't keep rejecting them—I did it a few times. Sometimes I appreciated them. And when the rejection turned into a compliment, they wanted more. To make a person a little attached to you, let them believe they made mistakes—and you rectified them. People will never take you seriously if you only compliment. But if you point out a mistake and help them correct it, they will look at you with a yearning for a lifetime stay. And I did. I tricked a few. Whoever I wanted to stay in my life, I made them stay.
In today's society, a lot of people try to heal and go for plastic surgery, which is very common. It is really visible to my eyes when someone has had plastic surgery, and I find it easily—not attractive. People all over the world in the 80s weren't pretty by face, but many were beautiful by heart. They didn't have pretty faces—long noses, blunt mouths, cracked lips, and pimpled skin; their skin was all tanned.
But I liked it. You could see the night and day, dusk and dawn, flower's colours and bird's patterns on many skins as a reminder: humans are pieces of this believing, be-loving, bewitching universe.
A lot of people might have good skin today, but it doesn't feel so true. It may be beautiful for lust and dating, but for love and marriage—these artificial skincare routines feel unreal. If a person loves you for your skin and doesn't love you in your reality, do you think the life they will provide will be stable and happy?
Stretch marks feel like the ocean hits the sun kisses, pimples like a white sky with black stars, tanned skin like coffee, black elbows like the universe. If someone loves you for yourself, remember—they love the universe too. And someone who loves everyone will never leave anyone for you. They will stay and stay, for as long as they can.