Appearances

A short essay that begs the question: Do we ever look deeper than the skin?

APPEARANCES

 

            She prepared herself backstage. As with every other contestant; she was nervous, perhaps a bit more nervous than she was supposed to be. This was her chance, her once in a lifetime opportunity to prove the world wrong. She took a deep breath and walked onstage with a confident gait only she could pull off. The snickers were obvious. The audience laughed, pointed, chuckled and even hid their faces. Nonetheless, she placed her hand on her hip and continued to walk toward the large red “X” in the center. “X” marks the spot where treasure is buried and, that day, she was the treasure. Taunting whistles were ringing in her ears, but she pushed them away, as she pushes all the teasing she encounters on a day to day basis.

“What’s your name,” she heard as she finally reached the “X”.

“Susan Boyle” she replied with a grin.  

“And where are you from?” the British man asked.

Susan found herself lost for words as she stumbled over the name of her town followed by hushed laughter.

“And how old are you?”

“I am forty seven”, she said shaking her hips confidently. “And that’s just one side of me.” Eye roles and mocking screams shot through the theater.

“And what are you going to do for us today,” asked the Britain’s Got Talent Judge?

“I am going to sing ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Miserable’s.”

“Go ahead”, said the less than impressed judge, as he and the crowd prepared for disaster.

At that, Susan Boyle gave a thumbs-up to the audio men and sang her way into history to dropped jaws and standing ovations. Nobody expected a strong, powerful and most certainly beautiful voice to come out of someone who they all were taught to outcast. From the first word to the final note, all judgments based on appearances were forgotten. All that was known were the ups and downs of a melody.

Everyday, we look at the external aspects of someone or something and make conclusions from these lies. Our appearances are lies. Lies about who we are and how we should be defined. You know absolutely nothing about who a person truly is from their appearances. So the next time you judge someone by how they look, remember Susan Boyle, the misfit who stood out.