Models in magazines not perfect, just perfectly retouched

A girl stares into a mirror and wishes that she looked more like the singer in the magazine sitting next to her. When I look through magazines and I see all of those pretty actresses, singers and models, I wonder, "How do they get themselves to look so perfect? How do the actors, male singers and male models get themselves so buff and strong? Is it personal trainers, diets, plastic surgery or even steroids?"

Well, it might be a lot different than you think.

Computers nowadays can do so much more than print and scan. If an actor/actress, singer, or model has a zit, a blemish, a wrinkle, yellow teeth or even a freckle, the photographers can retouch the image. They are able to smooth out wrinkles, even out skin tones, and make figures look more attractive, taller and thinner. Recently, in a Current Health magazine, I read that 100 percent of photos are retouched in magazines. Did you really think that everyone could look like that?

Making people look so good on TV or in magazines pressures kids to make themselves think that they look bad, fat or ugly. I think more kids should appreciate themselves for who they are rather that what they don't look like.

All of my friends very much admire Hollywood figures. Some think that the stars are very pretty, but like themselves just the way they are. Others wish that they looked like them. The way you look changes a lot from when you are in elementary school to when you are in high school.

Keep in mind that you are good just the way you are and you should never compare yourself to others. Those perfect-looking models and actors aren't picture perfect; their pictures are just perfectly retouched.

-- Gigi Glogovac is an eighth-grader at Virginia City Middle School.