The meaning of being Pretty

I wrote this after a lesson of health where we talked about body images and what we see in magazines. So I wrote a poem and also it will make my English teacher happy for me to write another poem. You may all tear this apart.

The meaning of being Pretty

Being pretty
Doesn’t mean super skinny,
with a waist the size of a twig.
Pretty isn’t about your skin tone,
or what colour your hair is.
It doesn’t matter about what you wear,
or the make-up you apply on your face.
Prettiness comes from the heart,
its being yourself and not following.
It’s about being natural,
because, you know what?
You’re pretty!

I do like the whole idea of this, but it really needs to go deeper.

imagery! There is so much imagery that can match the definition of 'pretty' or 'beautiful', and I didn't really see anything. Us readers want to capture your thoughts.
descriptions! Describe something to me, something beautiful, something like joy or honesty, or if you really want to go diverse, describe the beauty of pain. I understand that there is more to a person than looks, but please tell me what it exactly is. Inspire me.
emotion! Important important important!One of those most beautiful things inside somebody is their emotions. If it weren't for emotions, you wouldn't even care whether you're a pretty face. But at the same time, you wouldn't care about anything. So give me some emotion. Does it make you angry to see such a shallow society? Does it depress you, bother you, bring out your insecurity?


this is mainly what the poem needs. As you progress, I think you could possibly rewrite it, because the whole message seems pretty nice. Or you could simply rewrite it now, make it sound its best!

well, thank you for sharing. Please keep writing (:


-Becca.

I like this piece- it has a simple message, and a nice little rhyme scheme to go with it. I would think about taking it to another deeper level, and perhaps change the last line.


And- on another note- have you seen the Dove "evolution" film? That's what this reminded me of. There's another one too, by the same director for Dove, but I can't remember the name. Anyways- I highly recommend them. They're on youtube. c:

Nice piece. Great topic.


-Coral-

I liked this!
Keep Writing!
Nike

Well, the intent is good, and of course the meaning is true as ever, but the presentation was slightly blase. It wasn't really different from the countless other times I've heard the whole "you don't have to be skinny and slathered in makeup to be beautiful" thing. I'm not saying it was bad; it just needs, in my opinion, some touch-up, some enhancement. Which is rather ironic, because now that I think about it, you could be using the bare-essentials technique in your poem to reflect the theme of natural beauty. So by suggesting you edit your poem and spice it up, I guess I'm no better than the advertising moguls who attempt to shove beauty down young girls' throats....

You know, I quite liked this. It was simple and the rhyme was rather good. However, it doesn't aid me much. I believe you might do good maybe with a second poem like this one, but explaining why it's good to not worry over baseless things like skinny, tan, and tall w/ nice bust. (That was so fun to write. Bwahaha.)
I mean, everyone says: "Oh, just be pretty on the inside. It doesn't matter what you look like." It does matter. If you want a job, you have to dress up. People will always talk. It's better to dress like people say, act like people say, because it's easier. If you want to send a true message about beauty, I suggest you delve into every dark nook and cranny because no one ever explains why it is better. They just don't want you to end up as an anorexic airhead, or dead. People will mock you if you don't follow along, though. A back-up poem supporting the people who do try to be different, not for different's sake, but to be themselves and show their personality through their looks--well, that would be nice. And not all skinny people are being skinny to try and look good. Some people can't gain weight--without drugs. (*raises hand shyly*)

...Um. Yeah. Sorry about that mini-rant. Looking up people for the poetry contest and saw you, looked you up, and then scoffed because I'm weirdly world-weary for a fourteen-year-old. Total hippie with depth-perception issues or whatever. *nods* I do like it. I just don't think people care enough to say more on the topic. The other side is much more convincing because no one on the "Everyone's beautiful!" side never goes beyond what you just did. I'm a person with blinders, I see what's in front of me and don't care about anything else. People complain about that. But I do notice a lot more and I've noticed that.

Eh. Maybe I'll write my own poem on that. I'm obviously the one who needs it. Ha. (Also, a poem on men who have body-issues would be nice. There's a whole "body-builder-but-girl's-want-scrawny-dudes-what-the-heck?" thing going on. I swear most guys are gender-confused now. And even I can't decide who is what most days now. But...blinders. *bangs head on desk* I'll leave now...)

Yes. That is all.

(*goes off to read more poems*)

P.S. This is what happens when you make something pure and sweet. Light makes shadows starker. *bows head in shame*

I like this poem! That's all! (the guys already gave the reviews)

i really love your poem you're an awesome writer

Being pretty
Doesn’t mean super skinny, Amen
with a waist the size of a twig.
Pretty isn’t about your skin tone, Racism is big in my school
or what colour your hair is.
It doesn’t matter about what you wear,
or the make-up you apply on your face.
Prettiness comes from the heart,
its being yourself and not following. I like these lines the best
It’s about being natural,
because, you know what?
You’re pretty! Hallejuh A lot of people just don't get that!

I really like the message you're trying to portray with this but it needs to dig deeper into what pretty really is or what it isn't. It's not very powerful and it feels more informative. I still liked it though

Hey Waterlily,
I'm going to be honest. I didn't really like this poem. Those who have reviewed before me have already told you that this is not deep enough and a bit simple, and given what you're writing about, it's a little corny. Literature has to be unique in order to be impressive. Make this your own, use figurative language, come up with comparitive scenarios, make the formatting interesting. I'm not gripped by this poem at all. I think that you should maybe take this idea, and make a story about it in your poem. Use metaphors, maybe "Your radiance is self-determined, by the love in your heart and the joy in your soul" or something like that. I would be happy to review this again if you revise it.
-Alex

First of all, thank you for writing about this! True beauty is something that I find very important. I love your subject and the message of your poem.

I like your title in that it draws the reader in to find out what your meaning of "pretty" is. However, I would have capitalized "meaning" and "being."

As I said, I love the message of your poem, but as other reviewers have said, it could definitely be deeper. Or perhaps, you could give more depth to your poem by the way that you arrange it. Perhaps you could add some line breaks to add emphasis.

Overall, I love the message of the poem, and I think that you did a fine job :)

<3 "beauty is only skin deep" i love the way you expressed yourself...just to the point. plain, simple, and honest. love it.

Overall, I love the message of this poem, but, there might be some things you need to work on. First of all, the length of this poem is very short, to be talking about a subject that is very strong, and used a lot in our society, about just the outside being pretty. The poem could also use a bit more details and descriptions. For instance, I got a pretty good sense of what pretty is NOT, but, not as much about what pretty actually is. I thought it was great when you talked about it being about the heart, and I wish you could have elaborated more on the heart.

So, just overall, a bit longer, and more details, and it would be absolutely great!
Good job!

Though I enjoy this, and the structure is great with the sentences, I kind of just sigh when I read this because all I hear is either you are pretty if you look like this, and all the people say you are just pretty because you are who you are---there are a thousand poems like this, and everybody says this all the time, it's not a bad message, it's just...cliche (which is a word I hate to use)

great poem, use of words, and structure, but you need to go deeper, and really define what pretty is to yourself, it doesn't have to be what models look like, but we all know that "just being yourself" doesn't make you pretty if you suck...

3 and a half stars out of 5! Very clever structure---

and it's also very sweet...

aww.

I really liked this poem. It was simple and nice.
Although this is a pretty common theme. It would have been more personal if you added a few descriptions.