Books And Their Covers

So recently I've been really really thinking about physical appearances. Not in that I'm obsessing over mine or anyone else's, but in that I've been thinking about the effect they have on people.

A few weeks, maybe months, ago, I had a friend over and we were watching "Pirates of The Caribbean". She made a very flippant, off-hand comment about Keira Knightley's weight (Miss Knightley is a very thin girl) and told me that Keira was without a doubt anorexic.

I asked her how she knew. Had Keira admitted it publicly? Had their been a diagnosis?

No, she could just tell. After all, Keira was so skinny. Anyone that skinny has to be anorexic.

Now, this friend is very dear to me and I love her with all my heart. But this was not the first time she had made this kind of comment.

And I think this is a very common assumption. The same way that most people automatically "know" that a larger girl eats too much McDonalds, most people "know" in the same way that super-skinny girls don't eat at all.

Let me ask you something: Does Keira Knightley look unhealthy? Does she look as though she's been starving herself? No. Her skin looks healthy, her face is full, she has a lot of energy. Is her supposed anorexia a possibility? Yes. She is admittedly extremely skinny. Is it possible that she's just naturally very thin? Absolutely. Probable, even.

Is it even any of our business?

No.

Now, Keira Knightley is a celebrity. I understand that putting herself in the spotlight like that is going to bring her some unwanted attention, and I'm sure she understands that, too. People will, from now until she is either dead or forgotten by the public, always know details about her love life, family life, and social life that should otherwise be kept private.

But her body?

We are not living in her body. Her body does not provide us with nutrients or protect us from sickness. Her hair is not our hair, her eyes are not our eyes, and her sicknesses our not our sicknesses. Her weight is not our weight.

I have friends that weigh 100 lbs. I have friends that weigh above 200. I myself weigh around 130 (I don't know for sure because I rarely check the scale). The fact is, we're all different. We all look different. Even if there was another girl in the world who had blue eyes and blonde hair and a round face and a long torso and weighed around 130 lbs, she still wouldn't have the same fingerprints. Her eyes wouldn't be quite the same shade of blue, or shape, or with the same number of lashes. She'd never be able to bend her toes in the same silly way as I can mine. Because God made me that way.

God gave me the body shape of a pear. I have just about nothing up top, and more than I sometimes like to think about down below. I gain weight in the winter and lose it in the summer. Some girls have the shape of an apple, of an hourglass, of a stick. And that's okay. You wanna know why?

Because it doesn't matter. My body shape doesn't effect you. I only told you about it as an example. In a few years, I intend to have kids. Who knows what my body will look like then? At some point I'll get old and wrinkly, maybe fat, maybe super-skinny. I don't know. I shouldn't know. I don't need to.

The point is, a book is not its cover. A girl may weigh 200 lbs and work out every day and eat a healthy diet and take incredible care of herself. Another may weigh 105, maybe even less, and eat like she's got two hollow legs. It could be the other way around. We all ought to stop judging and prying into things that are none of our business, and just get to know people instead.

Have you judged a person based on their appearance? I know I have. It isn't okay, but you don't have to keep doing it. You can change.

Have you been judged based on your appearance? On your weight, or lack thereof? Maybe on your complexion, or face-shape. I know I have. It isn't okay, but you don't have to take it anymore. You can stand up for yourself.

The next time you feel judged or feel yourself starting to judge others, just ask yourself, "Is it any of my/their business?" and if it isn't -- it usually won't be -- just move on. You're not your cover, either. What used to happen, doesn't have to happen anymore.

When you open the book, you could find a whole different story inside.