Each of us has our own unique understanding of the definition of beauty and equality and can be affected by these concepts. In fact, these two nouns are normally key elements to the pursuit of happiness in our lives.

             First, what is beauty? There are at least two ways to define this term--one is by physical appearance, and the other is by the mental attitude. Physical beauty is visible, or what someone looks like on the outside. For example, we judge a person's beauty by such factors as race, clothing, physical build and height, and color of hair and eyes. In many cases, it is our cultural standards that teach us what type of people are considered beautiful. In the Western culture, for example, beauty is often associated with women who are blond, blue-eyed, tall and slender. In reality, a large number of the women we see in commercials or who are actresses on television shows are beautiful.

             Mentally, beauty is based on what a person is like internally. We say that "Susan is a beautiful person," because she is kind and friendly to others. That is, she has positive and caring beliefs and values that we respect. We either share similar values than Susan or hope that one day we will be able to look at life like she does. Other examples of what makes people beautiful inside are their thoughts, understanding and caring about others, self-esteem, ambitions, integrity, humility, and positive emotions. When we look at a person, we can see the physical traits. However, when getting to know the person better, we can gain a better idea of whether this beauty is also inside.

             Sometimes we become confused and make the wrong decisions. We see someone who is physically beautiful and assume that this person has inner beauty as well. We forget that there are many attractive men and women who are not the same inside. Their beliefs and values are very different from ours, or they are just not good people. Similarly, we forget that someone who is not very beautiful on the outside may be very beautiful inside.