Of flattery and tomfoolery..

Surely you've gone for a haircut sometime or the other. Let's be honest. At least 50% of the people I know of aren't satisfied with their hair. Be it length, texture, colour, style... If it's straight, you think its drab, if it's curls, you think it's messy. There is a greener side to most arguments. But what happens when you sit on the hairdresser's cutting throne? The hairdresser runs his/her expert fingers through your not-so-satisfactory hair and mumbles under his/her breath - you've got such nice hair. Those golden words. They vary with every customer. For me, it's always been - You've got such beautiful natural curls. So many girls would kill for them. At that instant, you want to believe them. You want to be vain enough to think that maybe to someone else's non-critical eye, your hair looks good. Now substitute hair for just about anything else - eyes, clothes, shoes, blah. It is true that somethings start to feel better once it is appreciated by someone else. Take the birthday present you don't like but everyone else is gushing over... take the movie you hated but everyone's all praises for - you start to wonder if your mood wasn't right to appreciate it. That figment of doubt is what makes everything seem brighter the second you have someone else's approval. That which is desired by someone else makes something entirely desirable. Ofcourse the purist would argue that this is mere insecurity and that one should be able to tell the difference between what's good and what's not for themselves without being influenced by other people's opinions. But let's face it... who is that secure of their judgement? A very few. The rest of us just rely on our basic instincts and the reflections of those close to us. And there's no need to be a realist at all times. Indeed, what's so wrong in getting a boost of confidence from some harmless flattery? Nothing at all.