I’ll never forget the words my mother-in-law said to me. It all began on a snowy day when I went to meet my husband’s parents for the first time. I had put on my best dress, styled my hair, and applied makeup carefully. I wanted to make a good impression. But the weather had other plans, and by the time I arrived, my appearance was far from perfect.
American Michelle Thompson was heading home to Chicago after a long business trip. Exhausted and eager to reunite with her family, she encountered a skincare sales consultant at the airport. What followed led to a heated debate on social media about beauty standards and ageism.
Initially, I wanted to emphasize the importance of physical beauty for women, but then it dawned on me that “beauty” is a concept too broad and vague to be confined to mere appearances. There’s external beauty and internal beauty, and this story explores the journey of a woman who learns the hard way that self-care encompasses much more than just looking good. This narrative is a reminder that beauty standards should not dictate how women perceive themselves or their worth.
