Snowed in

We got 2 1/2 feet of snow. For Maryland, that's pretty much the most ever. I think its technically 3rd most ever, but I'm a Humanities kinda gal where we're blissfully unaware of technicalities. (I can't believe I spelled that right on the first try...)

It should be an ideal weekend for blogging. But unfortunately, I'm super uninspired.

I plan on writing about the Doppleganger Phenomenon on Facebook and how some people think its "soooo conceited" to think that you look like a movie star. My take on it is this: it's not.

I guess I'll just go ahead and write it...

Why do I think it's not conceited, you may ask? Because, quite simply I don't idolize the beauty of movie stars. They really are just people. Pretty people. But not so beautiful that comparing yourself to them is ridiculous. I have friends that are every bit as lovely as those A-list folks. More lovely, to me because I can see them from what they really are, without gobs of paint and tape and silicone.

See now, that sounds cynical and sour-grape-ish. Which is the opposite of what I feel about the matter. I loved seeing all the celeb look-alikes because so many of them are TRUE.

People are people. One of the things that cemented this truth to me is the wedding pictures of my many recently wed friends. The first time I had seen them professionally photographed. And you know what? They are all GORGEOUS.

Even mine turned out beautifully, which shocked me because I am not a photogenic person. I think I'm pretty... but I take terrible pictures. Really. I've just reconciled myself to the fact, and don't even ask to see the picture when someone's passing the camera around. Because if every bad picture of me got deleted, my life would be completely undocumented.

Anyhow, the point of mentioning the wedding pictures: it is pretty amazing what good lighting/a nice camera can do. Celebs have that advantage a lot of the time. And when they don't we tend to discount it as "just a tabloid picture."

But let's put plastic surgery, make-up, great clothes, personal trainers, and great lighting aside for a moment, because I think there is a deeper issue here.

The deeper issue is something that C.S. Lewis touches on in one of my favorites The Weight of Glory:

"If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought the
highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfish-
ness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old
he would have replied, Love- You see what has happened? A
negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is
of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of
Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of
securing good things for others, but of going without them our-
selves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the
important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of
Love."

To me, the important thing should be kindness, not un-conceitedness. Humility is more than just thinking little of yourself. Its thinking highly of others. Thinking you are a plain person does no one any good. In fact, the very people who complainthe most about their looks are, in my experience, the most vain. I'll fall back on another C.S. Lewis quote: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less." If you're always talking about how ugly/fat you are, it means you're always thinking about yourself. STOP IT. (Not that I am never guilty of this.) And arguing when someone gives you a compliment... STOP IT. Say "thanks" and move on. God made you the way you are. And chances are, there is someone out there who thinks you're an ideal beauty. Even if you aren't everything you wish you were.

I don't think everyone needs to do celebrity doppelganger week, by any means. Its just fun. But the articles calling it "Narcissism Revealed" were seriously bothering me.'' (perhaps partly because I had a whole collage of the celeb's I've been told I resemble. lol)

I hope this wasn't all just a veiled attempt to justify my conceit...

No. As usual, I'm right. (As you can see, vanity isn't my problem. Arrogance is.)