Is the prospect of spring break perfection driving you into psychosis? If so, it's no wonder. We live in a world that casts an artificial illumination on everything. We tan our skin using faux light, airbrush already emaciated models and have cosmetic surgery on everything from calves to noses -- all in the name of aesthetics.

In a world where nothing is truly as it seems, we are constantly striving for flawlessness. It seems we have gotten so caught up with what we want that we lose sight of who we are. We forget that having an attractive personality and a wholesome dose of confidence is really beautiful. In matters of sanity, how much does perfection really cost?

Staring blankly into a department dressing room mirror, with the fluorescent lighting transmitting an unflattering yellowish tinge on my body, I realized that I wouldn't unearth serenity with my body there. I started thinking about beauty; it would never be found between the glossy pages of a magazine. It was then that I began to understand that truth is really the most beautiful thing a person can ever achieve.

At the risk of sounding trite, I won't say that true beauty comes from within, although it does. Beauty is about being a real person, a true person. It is about being a good confidant to those you care deeply about. It is about laughing at yourself when life doesn't go exactly "as planned." It is about embracing your flaws and realizing that it is these imperfections that give you character. It is about taking a stand for what you believe in. It is about having passion. It is about having pride. It is about realizing what you want out of life and going out to get it.

Unlike your looks, these qualities can never be taken away from you. Why is it that we still let something so fleeting define who we are and what we are worth? Why are we all subscribing to the same beauty standard? When we take away all of the things that make us unique as an individual, we become nothing but a shell of a person. We become boring. We become ugly.

By the same token, I believe the ugliest things in life are those that are artificial. Being raised in a society that glorifies unattainable standards of beauty, falsities are inherently spewed in every direction. As a result, we've created a fake image of what beauty "should be." What message are we sending when even supermodels get airbrushed or have plastic surgery? Many women won't accept cubic zirconium for a diamond engagement ring, so why do we accept silicone for real breasts? Are these false standards just distracting us, aiding in leading our lives further from the truth? We have become a society that just takes someone else's word for it. Is that what life is really about?

The dictionary defines beauty as "the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit." You may or may not agree with this definition, or this column for that matter. Nevertheless, this spring break I urge you to be an individual. Be confidant with who you are. Don't let some small parameter of what you should be define you. And wear that bright pink bikini or tiny Speedo with your pasty white skin proudly, but only if you want to.