What determines beauty?

“Beauty isn’t all about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, heart and soul.” This is a statement that makes a lot of sense. People tend to put a lot of effort into their looks which isn’t a crime - however, they ignore the inner-self which is an immeasurable determinant of beauty.Beauty isn’t all about having long hair, a wasp-sized waist, curvy body, killer smile and cute clothes, but rather it’s about what lurks on the inside. When it comes to outer beauty, what might be beautiful to one person might be extremely ugly to another. For instance some people believe that being skinny is cool while others prefer to see beauty as curvaceous and voluptuous. However, at the end of the day, beauty starts on the inside. It has nothing to do with beauty pageants or being on the cover of beauty magazines. Work towards getting the crown for inner beauty. This however, does not mean you should ignore your outer appearance.Daniella Rukundo, 25 years, is a resident of Gacuriro, Kigali and says that people who look beautiful on the outside but are ugly in the inside are actually ugly.“I’ve met a number of girls who are strikingly beautiful but have ugly traits, for instance; they are vulgar, dress inappropriately or just have ugly mean hearts. The beauty somehow vanishes away,” Rukundo says.She adds that whereas one might not feel so beautiful on the outside, they should pay more attention to what’s inside.Being beautiful in the inside should just be like investing in cosmetics and the latest designer clothes. Joe Gatsinzi 27 years, a boutique owner and resident of Kabeza says that everyone has a habit or two in their character that makes them ugly. He says that these bad traits and habits have the potential to tarnish our outer image and beauty.“We should work towards improving our personality on top of enhancing our outer beauty,” he says.“From a man’s perspective, we like hanging out with beautiful girls but when it’s time to settle down, we consider personality and character first,” Gatsinzi explains.Everyone is beautiful. There might be parts of our bodies that we hate but can’t change. However, the real deal is in changing who we are from the inside out—that is real beauty.