It's All About How You Rock It

So I had a total "light bulb blinks on above head" moment today. Yes, that moment is the inspiration for the title of this post (and, not surprisingly, the post itself): it's all about how you rock it.
Allow me to take a minute and point out that the version of society that everyone always complains about is constantly shoving "beauty" down our throats and those images tend to have an impact on people's lives. Most girls think that they have to be at least a few sizes smaller before a boy will look their way. And boys--in my experience--think that girls will only look at them if they're really fit, and have some crazy smorgasbord of talents.
But I was thinking about boys this morning (and how there's an appalling lack of them near me) when I remembered what it was like to walk around with my girlfriends. We would do this thing if there was a cute boy, this very obnoxious thing: we'd grab each other's hands and squeeze. For at least three years of high school, that was the universal sign for "Look up because there is a majorly attractive male in our vicinity!" Then we'd giggle and wonder if maybe said very attractive male was looking at us; hoping that, if he was, it's because we were cute and not because we were having a giggle fit. Yes, as the years went on, our giggling got slightly more discrete...but only slightly. I'm embarrassed to say that I have an extremely hard time maintaining any sort of composure around boys that I think are hot.
Then I met this wonderful girl who has completely different taste in boys. I still have yet to nail down her type but that's really the point here: she has a type. Maybe she understands what the average girl considers cute but she has her own specific set of attributes that make a guy go from cute to drop dead gorgeous. Surprise, surprise, I have my own set of attributes too. Currently among them are: tall with a bit of an attitude, pretty eyes, and lots of confidence (not arrogance, mind).
Oops. I'm getting off track here, so we are going to switch gears. Imagine this outfit: black tank over a pair of dark skinny jeans. We'll thrown on a chunky red necklace and low, also red heels for a bit of flair. Now, this outfit sounds simple yet attractive (at least to me; I might have to go shopping for it); it's not extravagant but it's slightly more alluring than a hoodie and Chucks (although, I do have a great attachment to that outfit). Next step in this process is to imagine a girl wearing said outfit (or a boy, whatever floats your boat).
Create a little world around this girl, maybe a street full of shops and tourists, or maybe a college campus. Even though her outfit is cute all by itself, that is not a promise that heads will turn. Heads will turn because of how the girl rocks what she's wearing. If her confidence can be felt (a couple indicators might be that she's smiling, and her hips are swinging just the right amount), heads are going to turn. I'm willing to bet that the same thing will happen to the girl wearing the hoodie and Chucks as long as she's confident.
In order to pull all of this together (and to prove that I'm not really rambling), I will say this: everyone has their own type, which means that everyone is sought after. Granted, yes, heads are more likely to turn if you're beautiful. But "beautiful" doesn't mean being a size two and wearing the latest fall fashions from Paris. "Beautiful" just means that you know yourself and are completely comfortable with the self you see in the mirror every morning. I guess it also means that you don't really care if heads are turning because you know who you are and you're okay with that.
Beauty and confidence are two characteristics that go hand-in-hand. When you walk around with your shoulders straight back and head held high, people know that you've got a lot going for you. Even if you don't think that you have a lot going for you, try walking around like that (shoulders back, head high, smiling just a little) because life's not about conforming to the way you think society wants you to be...it's about finding yourself and rocking that lifestyle.