Kelly Barry- Of One's Time

Beauty has many different definitions in our world. In Ancient Greece, "The classical Greek noun for "beauty" was, kallos". Likewise, "The Koine Greek word for beautiful was hōraios,an adjective etymologically coming from the word, hōra, meaning "hour." In Koine Greek, beauty was thus associated with "being of one's hour."
A ripe fruit (of its time) was considered beautiful, whereas a young woman trying to appear older or an older woman trying to appear younger would not be considered beautiful". Why is it that society today is obsessed with changing oneself to fit a mold? What is it about age that scares us in American culture? A girl spends her years growing up trying to look older until she hits 30 and then starts doing the opposite.Thirteen year old girls cake themselves in foundation and eyeliner to "hide wrinkles" and look older. Fifty year old women, likewise, sign up for botox injections and lip implants to look younger. Why can't we have the same appreciation for beauty as the ancient Greeks?
Beauty should not be something that fades with age.A female fox do not go shopping for the latest fur coat in order to look better than the other foxes. A painting does not add extra coats to itself to look better. The portrait that had been painted 50 years ago would not be any more beautiful today, even though a person's perspective might claim so. However, today there are those who will try to remake the art pieces in an attempt to make it look better or "younger".
Cherish the moment. Take pride in the beauty of your age; young or old.


"Beauty." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Web. 21 April 2011.