3rd May - Why appearance is irrelevant

In recent months, I've been mentoring a series of young writers across a wide-range of areas when it comes to various types of English-based skillset. If there's one thing I can have the decency to partake in at my age, it's passing on my skill and educating others to create a better future society, rather than selfishly hogging my knowledge and abilities without ever at least imparting some nuggets of wisdom on the talents of tomorrow. Though, I've noticed that the chosen subject matter within many of said writers is sadly dependant on the world we live in today. 

I could (and have) offer(ed) said writers complete blank canvases, an empty page to write about any topic they see fit within the world. Perhaps some deep philosophical musings, a carefully constructed political analysis of current affair issues, or an insightful commentary on modern-day societal occurrences. Though I'm so often met with results which look like 'The Best Instagram Outfits to Gain More Followers', '10 Items From 'The White Company' to Make Your House Look Like Molly-Mae's', or 'How To Achieve a Faultless Make-Up Look'. Whilst I'm not naive enough to reject the notion that make-up artists or interior designers aren't 'skilled' professions, what I've noticed is that so much of modern society is built upon appearance, which is incredibly concerning. 

'Making your house look like Molly Mae's', is a 'skill' which is dependent on the size of your wallet. As is the 'ability' to buy the most expensive make-up, or the 'profession' of purchasing clothes to up your social media following. These are not skills which can contribute to society. They're meaningless forms of attachment to a completely man-made construct of a make-believe currency which was designed to create some form of societal hierarchy, going right back to Roman times when labour would be traded for weaponry or 'pieces of gold' from the King. Should we not, instead, be teaching the youth of today, how to write? By which, I mean write properly. No 'your and 'you're' mistakes. No 'could of' instead of 'could have'. No starting sentences with 'And' or failing to use conjunctions, and no more littering of repetition, making for a snooze-inducing bore-fest of a reader experience. 

In my life, I've regularly discarded CVs and messages from people wanting to work with me on the basis of such basic errors. Likewise, if you mis-spell my name in an email, what does that tell me about your attention to detail and level of respect towards the person you're speaking to? Your email will be instantly deleted and ignored as a result, and I'm not the only one who thinks that way. What use is it to look like an Instagram model, or a 'protein jock' when you can't hold an intelligent conversation in a room, or display an accurate knowledge of basic fundamentals in our human existence, like history, religion, geography, or current news and world stories? Throughout my life, I've met a vast array of truly beautiful people, and yet... Within 5 minutes of conversation, I have no desire to allow them to continue to be a part of my life any longer. You can wear the most expensive clothes in the world, all carefully coiffed around your fresh haircut, and tight body, but unless you've previously worked on what's inside, it's all irrelevant. In the coming years, please let's place more emphasis on art, on performance, on skillsets. On thinking creatively, on creating new uses and technologies for our world, and on medical research...

And a little less, on 'Love Island', or TikTok.