Acceptance

ac•cept•ance

/ækˈsɛp təns/ –noun

1.the act of taking or receiving something offered.
2.favorable reception; approval; favor.
3.the act of assenting or believing: acceptance of a theory.

“But can we all just stop lying about that there aren’t things that we wouldn’t change about ourselves? . . . I’m just keeping it real. . . . All I’m saying is that if you look in the mirror and you don’t like what you see, you should change it.”

Santana Lopez– Glee “Born This Way”

When you look at yourself in the mirror, are there things that you wish you could change? Are there things about yourself, inside and out, that you wish you never had?



The newest Glee episode revolves around the topic of people accepting themselves for who they really are, no matter what you look like, no matter what race you came from. For me, the most impactful moment of the show was the internal conflict within Quinn Fabray. So far in Glee, she has been depicted as your typical High School “It” girl, long flowing blonde hair, a facial bone structure which are to die for, basically the prettiest girl in school. Here in this episode it was revealed that before she came to High School, she was not pretty at all. She was fat, had pimples all over her face and had brown hair (not that there’s anything wrong with brown hair). She even did a nose job to achieve the look that she has right now. This is what she has to say about her experience being that sad little girl.

“I hated the way I look. I had zits, I was chubby, felt terrible about myself. I didn’t have friends, nobody would talk to me. I was the only kid at school who had to dissect their own frogs because nobody would be my lab partner. [Describing the changes she made]. . . I love myself and that’s why I did all those things. I’ve been that girl, and I’m never going back."

Quinn Fabray – Glee “Born This Way”

I believe that this is a topic that really resonates deep inside all of us because, as Santana has so crudely put, there must be things about ourselves that we always want to change. Maybe you want to lose a few more pounds, to have higher cheek bones, wishing to God that you don’t have an entire Amazon of zits on your face or even wishing that you came from another race. And we all know how hard life can be when you don’t look like as good as other people, when you don’t click with other people, when you’re different.

Personally I can really relate to Quinn Fabray, in terms of how she used to hate the way she looked. I didn’t have it as bad as she was (I never wish to have any cosmetic surgeries), but I have to admit that I was fat when I was younger, and I wasn’t remotely athletic at all. I totally suck at sports, and in an environment where most people view that boys should be good at sports it was something that I was really ashamed off. And all these things that I see of myself are the reasons why I strive towards perfection (insecurity post). It is because I was so insecure about myself and the way I look that I tried so hard in order to be that perfect image. Just like how Quinn Fabray tried so hard to change and hide her past so she can be what she is today. I believe that when you see someone who is almost perfect it’s either they are just lucky enough to have it all naturally or they are just extremely insecure that they try so hard to be perfect to satisfy their insecurity and to be able to accept themselves.

When talking about the topic of acceptance I am always a bit confused as sometimes trying to change who you are, like what Santana said, can be a good thing. For me, I tried to lose weight and I picked up certain sports like tennis and swimming and all of those worked for me. Nowadays I can feel much better about myself compared to when I was still in Primary and Junior High School. In the words of Quinn Fabray, I didn’t try to be perfect and change myself solely because of the insecurity and because I hate myself, it is because I love myself that I want to change, that I want to be better.

I believe that acceptance is crucial. You should always try and accept who you are, especially all the things that you can’t change inside or out. But like how you must control your insecurities I believe you should also control your sense of acceptance too, as we all should look at ourselves and try to see the things that we can change to make ourselves into a better person. An example, I was obese last time, If I were to completely accept myself with no other regards, I would have continued being obese and unhealthy for the rest of my life, with risks of heart disease and diabetes haunting me every step of the way. All I’m saying is do not let your sense of acceptance of who you are prevent you from trying to improve yourself as a person.

Acceptance does not only mean towards oneself but also towards others. As we can see from Quinn Fabray’s account, her life was miserable not because she didn’t accept herself, it is because the other kids in school refuses to accept her for who she was and what she looked like, which caused her to hate herself for it. Accepting yourself for who you are is one step, but we should never forget to try and accept other people for who they really are as well. People are born different and who are we to judge them based on their looks and what they have? We all have things that we wish to change about ourselves and so does the people around us, and it will do everyone good if we could try and accept other people for who they are and not give them a miserable time in school or anywhere else just because they are different. We all have certain kinds of people that we prefer to hang out with and that’s perfectly fine. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to be nice and accepting to everyone, even the people that we can’t really “click” with.

Finally, in the words of Lady Gaga

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way