In the short book, Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen, Quindlen shares her wisdom of the term “perfection.” She discusses her personal experience of being “perfect” when she was younger and tries to persuade the readers that being “perfect” is not worth the hardships, but finding and expressing someone’s true personality and character is. Striving for “perfection” can fog people’s mind in acting contrary to their true selves. For example, people begin to expect the ultimate best out of one another and begin to lack the understanding of others. All people should learn to give up the unreachable goal of being flawless because everyone makes mistakes; it is the way in which people handle their mistakes that makes their true personality shine.
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This urge occurred when I went ice skating in January this year in 2016. I had only been ice skating a few times before and was still very hesitant in trusting my body to balance on the skates. I am slow at first when I get on the ice, but I gradually get faster as I get more comfortable in gliding. I have always wanted to be good at ice skating, but unfortunately I never am able to trust myself to take longer strides so I may skate faster. Midway through skating, I began to realize that I was fine with the pace I was going because I was in control. My friends would come to me at times and take my hand to pull me faster on the ice. Even though I loved going faster, I did not feel comfortable with my lack of control because I was scared of falling. The same situation happened while roller blading this June. I had never been roller blading before, but I knew it was very similar to ice skating. I tried going very slow in order to build up to the speed my friends had. When I finally got adjusted, I felt confident in my speed and began to follow my friends instead of stay beside them. They tried pulling me faster, but I refused to let them because even though the speed was not “perfect” to them, it was “perfect” for me. These two experiences have helped me realize that it is acceptable not to be “perfect” at everything I do
While the slogan “The pursuit of perfection” might be an effective way to market luxury automobiles, it is not a way to live one’s life. In Anna Quindlen 's speech, “Being Perfect,” she discusses the price of perfection, not in dollars or cents, but in its impact on one 's life. Through powerful anecdotes, symbols, and analogies, she creates a strong connection with her audience and utilizes it to convince them that there is a very high price of pursuing perfection- the loss of oneself.
Every day in our lives, we desire to be perfect to please others. No matter how hard we try, if we do not achieve the concept of being perfect, then we would feel like failures. For example, every year in the Olympics, a new crowned Olympic champion receiving a gold medal persuades young athletes to worry over winning a medal in every competition they compete. If they do not win a medal in a certain competition, then all their hopes are vanished for the next competition. This action shows how if we do not strive to emulate other people’s achievements, then we will not stand out from the rest of our population. In “Suicide Note” composed by Janice Mirikitani, Mirkitani describes the speaker as a college student who kills herself after not receiving a perfect grade point average. When people look at her body lying down on a cover of snow, they perceive that her suicide is due to her inability of becoming perfect. However, on a deeper meaning, the suicide symbolizes her inability of realizing the concepts of family love, hard work, and happiness.
“The word perfection cannot be defined into one person or one thing. Perfection can only be told or seen in a first person view. No one will genuinely think something or someone is as perfect as another person, it’s impossible to see eye to eye with something that is as powerful and subjective as perfection.” - Jordan van der neut, 2014
When pondering about what an individual thinks of you, people have varying views. Some people are not concerned; to others it is the most critical matter on their mind. The feeling of being judged is a very potent emotion. Likewise, conformity is one of the largest controversies in today’s society; the behavior of someone in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. So if someone personally made his or her expectations on what you should be like evident, would you change? In Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook, he illustrates that judgment and expectations conform a person into someone they are not due to their personal identity. This can be seen through a character’s loyalty to another, dominance and the vulnerability it includes, and a character’s love and devotion. Conformity and the reasons for its appearance will be analyzed through samples from Matthew Quick’s bestselling novel.
The idea of the ‘perfect woman’ is one that has been a popular topic of discussion over the past decade. Unreal Celebrity Photoshop Transformations was a video revealed on YouTube and Buzzfeed on January 7th 2014. The purpose was to educate the public on the effects altered photos has on society. Within a matter of one week the video gained over a million views. The argument behind the viral text has many different aspects and angles to view it from. The video argues the damaging effects of altering photos through a logical lens by displaying examples of unnecessary transformations of celebrity photos, grasping an individual’s emotions to understand the psychological toll photos take on young adults in society.
Perfect: adj. ˈpər-fikt 1. Entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings, is the first definition you find on dictionary.com for the word (perfect). Is this actually possible to attain? Has anyone actually ever been perfect? Or is it all in the eye of the beholder? These questions are asked by almost every girl, as we dream to one day reach the unattainable. This is especially true at the tender age of fifteen, where nothing seems to be going right with our bodies and everything is changing in us. This poem stresses the fact that as everyone realizes how unrealistic this dream is, the knowledge makes no difference to the wish. Marisa de los Santos comments on this in her poem “Perfect Dress”. The use of verbose imagery, metaphors, and the simplistic approach are very effective in portraying the awkward adolescent stage of a young woman and the unrealistic dream of being perfect.
In a perfect world, everyone would be born with an impeccable sense of self. We would be welcomed and wanted and experience the type of up-bringing that fostered development of a complete knowledge of value and self-worth. Every individual would gain a clear sense of purpose and a true understanding of the gifts buried within them. This knowledge would give rise to diligence and focus that, coupled together with love and support, would encourage each individual to grow and build those gifts to their fullest extent; the fruit of such feeding the nations in both body and spirit. Oh, to live in such a place.
Today, our culture demands us to be perfect, thin, powerful, successful, smart, extraordinary, but when people begin to try achieving them, we start labeling them as narcissists. The problem is that it is impossible for anyone to please everyone. Brown defines narcissism as simply a “fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose” (22). Before giving out labels, it is wise to practice asking ourselves questions to clear the intentions and reasons of someone’s behavior. For example, teenagers posting pictures of themselves online to gain some attention reveals that the culture has taught them that they are as lovable as the number of likes and comments they get on social media. Negative feedback roots into negative thinking about vulnerability and causes them to shut themselves down and never show their real selves again. Encouraging others to believe that they are perfect as themselves, will plant a positive attitude in them and push them to pursue their goals and visions to fulfill their dream of a happy
When Anna Close is first introduced in the novel, As We Are Now she is referred to as Mrs. Close. From what I gather, this was to represent a sort of formality between her and Caro because they were not yet acquainted. Not only this, but it also seems that it was Harriet and Rose's way of manipulating Caro to fear the worst out of Harriet's replacement. Caro knew better than to expect someone who would actually care for her, because of this she was surprised beyond belief when she met Anna.
Think of a person, any person. It could be a close associate or simply a fond acquaintance. Now think of every adjective that could possibly be used to describe that individual. Did the word “perfect” happen to be one of those descriptions? Odds are that it was not. If it was then a reevaluation might be in order because that analysis contradicts with the self-evident truth found in the person’s humanity, the individual's predisposition to faults. Nonetheless, we tend to overlook the faults in people in order to maintain a happy relationship with them. Erasmus addresses this phenomenon in his work titled Praise of Folly. In this satirical piece, Erasmus utilizes the narrator Folly in order to address societal issues in an ironic fashion. One of the social deceptions Folly speaks of lies within the confines of relationships as it specifically relates to friendship, marriage, and family.
“People are good or half good or a quarter good, and it changes all the time- but even on the best day nobody's perfect.” (Quote from Let the Great World Spin). This quote spoke to me because I struggle with perfectionism. Although I realize no one is perfect and perfection is really a myth, I still strive for it for some strange reason. I have never been one to compare myself to others. I try to be the best I can be. I see my biggest competitor when I look in the mirror. I have learned that even the word perfect in the Bible does not mean what we think it means. God would not say “Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 6:48) if it was something we are unable to do. He equips us and strengthens us to do everything He has called us to do every day. The Biblical sense of the word perfection for us as individuals means entirely complete, being full, and sufficient, from the Greek word teleioo. I used to want to lose weight. Now, I want to be at a healthy weight. I used to want to be healthy. Now, I want to be whole. Healthy means the absence of sickness or disease. Whole, on the other hand, is so much more. It is completeness, in spirit, soul, and body. I think I will always struggle with perfectionism, but giving myself grace is something I am learning as God gave grace to me, I will also give it to myself and others.
Ever so slowly I place one shaky foot out onto the slippery ice while clutching the rail. Quickly pulling my other foot out for balance, I begin slowly skating with my hand grazing the wall. Picking up speed, I pull away from the wall avoiding the stupid teenagers who are taking pictures. Rolling my eyes, I go more towards the middle of the rink with my arms slightly outstretched for balance. Watching out for the people around me, I glimpse friends laughing while one tries to teach another to skate. A small smile spreads across my face as I roll my shoulders and take a deep breath. I push off slowly at first but quickly gain speed as I find my balance. No longer are my skates getting stuck in groves as I stop focusing so much on the movement of my
Whether we like it or not, young girls know what being “beautiful” is in today’s society. My friend is the perfect example of this beauty. She knows it, and she utilizes it in every aspect of marketing herself and her platform, “Perfection is Perception.”
EE Cummings once declared, “In a world that does its best to turn you into something you are not, the hardest battle to fight is to remain true to yourself – and never stop fighting.” The world is made up mostly of Somebodies, and they are always looking for others to become like them. It is a contagious disease that steals the originality of a person and replaces it with an imposter. It plays on a person’s self-esteem and destroys their true identity. It is a war that has to be fought and won each and every day, but most give up after a few insignificant battles. A poet named Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe once voiced, “Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.” The Somebodies are always caught up on trying to be someone else. They stay with the trend and do whatever it tells them to. The downside is that they don’t have the time or courage to grow their individuality like they were meant to. The Somebodies are blind to this and slowly disappear into the crowd as if they never truly were a single individual.
...ience true perfection. Since an ideal can never hold up to a reality, nothing can be truly perfect.