Good afternoon and happy Monday ~ 

I do not watch much reality TV, but there is one show I find particularly interesting:  Catfish

It's premise is to connect people who have been chatting via the internet, with one usually deceiving the other in some way.  These people profess their love for each other without having ever met face to face.  It is interesting to see what drives individuals to maintain an online relationship and believe what some faceless someone is telling them about themselves.

I watched an episode recently that made me very sad.  In this particular episode, both individuals were pretending to be someone they were not.  They were truthful about their names, families and other situations in their lives.  What they were not truthful about was their appearance.  They each sent photographs to each other that were not what their true selves looked like.  The young lady sent photo shopped "thin" pictures of herself, while the young man sent a photo that depicted a very shapely man with six pack abs.

During the investigative process, it was discovered that the photos of the young man were not quite accurate.  He was confronted and very hesitant to meet this young lady.  She, in turn, wanted to meet him, but was scared due to the fact she had lied to him about her appearance.

They did end up meeting, she being more shocked than he was at what the other looked like. 

What struck up a sadness in me was their need to conform to some standard of appearance as to what is acceptable in today's society.  They both were ashamed of their appearance and did not like going out in public for fear of being judged and criticized.

What is happening?  When did it stop being acceptable to be who we are?  When are we going to stop judging people based on their appearance?  When will we learn to accept ourselves?

Take a stand, be courageous, set a good example for others.  Acceptance -- it's not that difficult. 

The two people in the Catfish episode mentioned above were going to visit one another in their respective states and see how it played out.  They seemed like good people.  It is a shame that society's standards prevented them from realizing that for themselves.  I hope in my heart that they find happiness with each other and learn that their appearance does not define or limit them.