SPOTTED

What is beauty? We had the opportunity to interview our model from this shoot, Shae Pisarich, about her idea of beauty. BY: KAMERON KEEL STYLED BY: TRINITY BANCROFT PHOTOS BY: JOSEPH NOLL

How would you define true beauty? S: True beauty for me starts on the inside. You have to love who you are as a person and have confidence in that person to feel and look beautiful on the outside. How can you truly be beautiful if you don’t love yourself inside and out?

What is your opinion on the media/mainstream depiction of beauty? S: Media to me is a constant loop of everyone else’s highlight reel, and I understand it because it’s my highlight reel as well. It wasn’t created to make others feel bad about themselves, but we made it so by comparing our lives to everyone else’s. 21

Do you think social media effects self-love/ self-image? S: Yes of course. But it’s like I said in first question if you truly love who you are as a person your self image will reflect that and shine through in your everyday life. When we decide to stop letting social media affect the way we see ourselves then it loses the power it has over us. It’s a personal choice whether or not you let what’s on social media affect you.

What are struggles you have faced growing up with self-image and how did you overcome them? S: I always knew I was different from everyone else, but when I was about 6, other kids my age started to notice how different I was. Having vitiligo shaped who I am today but I can’t tell you I didn’t wish I was like everyone else at some point in time. It wasn’t ‘til high school when I decided that if I had true friends and family that could love me and think I was beautiful that I could start seeing my true beauty in all its uniqueness. I’m still working on it every day just like everyone else in the world it comes with time and maturity. I hope that by finding and understanding my beauty though different from the norm will inspire others to embrace their differences.

Middle and High School are self-defining times as people are trying to find who they are, what they like, etc. What is something you wish all people knew in regard to image? S: Your image is what you make it. Looks are not what make your image. An image is how the people around you feel when they are near you. I want my image to be filled with love and sincerity. I want people to feel comfortable and safe and most importantly I want them to know that they are not only being listened to but truly heard and understood. Image is one of the greatest gifts of being a human being because we have the ability to be exactly who we want to be no matter what anyone else has to say. As cliché as it sounds always be exactly who you are, and the rest will come.

Too often we are caught up with outward appearances. We spend superfluous amounts of money to aid in what we look like, all for those jeans to not always fit, hair color to fade, and leather to patina. We can no longer accept the shallow aspects of life. We must find what fulfills us past surface level appearances in others, and in ourselves. We all know we will not always look like what we look like now, in our 20’s, what we believe to be our prime though as humans we fail to recognize our prime until it has passed. Once our prime is gone, however, what will you have left? What can you take with you regardless of what you look like? That is what we must focus on. 24