Perfectly Imperfect

per·fec·tion

/pərˈfekSH(ə)n/
noun
 the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.

I recently had a conversation with someone about the concept of viewing one’s self through the eyes of another, and how despite some people’s seemingly perfect personas, we all possess at least one fatal flaw. Perhaps it was because it was 12 am and I was rather sleep deprived, but the depth of these seemingly simple thoughts really shook me. There is a bittersweet feeling to this type of thought process, because although it is satisfying to think of the attributes of myself that others would certainly love: my lips, my hair, my ethnicity, my curves, my smile, my free spirit,  it was equally as unsatisfying to think of what people could hate, which very well could be, anything. 

I think it’s important to recognize that perfection is unattainable. This has been proved time and time again – in my own life, in the lives of people I know, in history, in art, in literature, even in Frankenstein. So, why do we bother with it? It seems rather useless – to aim for a standard that has never truly been established, and yet, we do.

Could this be one of our fatal flaws?

The answer to that question is one I do not know.

What I do believe however,  is that us as humans are lucky enough to have such a purpose in our lives. We are lucky enough to know that we have the power to control what we can and cannot do, and we are lucky to have the power to decide whether our flaws should help or hinder us on our journey through life… and I believe some people take that for granted.

And so at this point in the  conversation, I couldn’t help but think of The Monster, and I began to think, “What must it be like to only view one’s self through the views of others?”

In my conversation, I was asked to explain perfection, and all I seemed to say was this:

“Perfection is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It doesn’t exist, and yet we like to convince ourselves that it does, because in all honestly, I think we are more in love with the journey than we are of the destination. The journey is what shapes us.” 

pot-o-gold

Now, to relate this explanation to the definition of perfection. It’s ironic how the definition literally says that the condition of being perfect means that you must be free of all possible flaws and defects. How does that work? How could we possibly rid ourselves of ALL of our flaws when it is those is that makes us up entirely?

And here is where I really began to pity The Monster. To me, the idea of abandoning such vital parts of my being was too difficult to conceptualize. Whether they be flaws or not, they are still me, and whether people choose to love my hair or my smile, or perhaps even hate both of those things about me, they are still me. Yet, for a person who is nothing more than a creation, who really doesn’t have any flaws, it must be rather easy to abandon one’s self when they didn’t see the beauty of the who they were to begin with. The monster was a blank canvas and he was thrown out into the world without even the slightest idea as to who he was and what his flaws were. So, how could he have possibly pursued a self righteous journey to perfection when he didn’t even know what that path was supposed to look like?  The Monster emulated the ideals of others, and in naivety shaped a belief that he felt obligated to follow, and can we blame him?

And so, as I was talking to this individual, and as I was explaining the importance in striving for perfection, despite it being an unreachable task, I just felt lucky. Because at least I can find the benefit in other’s perceptions of me, and because, through the pursuit of my (unattainable) ideas of perfection, I am able to find myself. I am lucky to say that I am able to realize that my imperfections make me stronger, and so, despite the fact that I pity the monster for not being able to realize this in himself, I am thankful that I am able to realize that in me.

yas·meen

/yas-MEEN/

noun

perfectly imperfect.

 

 

 

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2 thoughts on “Perfectly Imperfect

  1. Dear Yasee,

    I love your exploration on the concept of perfection. While I do think perfection can motivate us to always do our best, it can also cause us heartache, especially when we don’t achieve something we wanted to. And it is indeed strange how perfection is a concept that has its own definition, but how, at the same time, it doesn’t even exist. But maybe this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I like how you said, “To me, the idea of abandoning such vital parts of my being was too difficult to conceptualize. Whether they be flaws or not, they are still me, and whether people choose to love my hair or my smile, or perhaps even hate both of those things about me, they are still me.” If everyone was perfect, and if we didn’t have flaws, life would be so terribly boring. Literature would be boring, even. Can you imagine if every book or play you ever read had a perfect protagonist? Not only is that unrealistic, but it would become quite redundant and people like some flavour every once and a while.

    I also appreciated how you tied the idea of perfection and having flaws to our own perceptions of ourselves, as well as the way other people see us. Then there is the point you brought up about the monster, who had no one to help him navigate the world around him. He understood that people didn’t like him because of his beast-like, but he had no one to tell him the things that were beautiful about him–like his (initial) kindness, which was something the audience could only see. In a way, not having this reinforcement is what made him bitter, because he was forced to only look at the fact that no one wanted to be around him. This is where his flaws came from.

    I like how you compared your life to the monster’s life, and I LOVED how you ended this piece–with a bang. “Perfectly imperfect” Aren’t we all, huh?

    Never stop writing,
    Jade.

  2. Dearest Yasee,

    First of all, I’d just like to say how beautiful for me it is to read your writing, because I’ve known you for so long and I’ve always known how insightful you are, but being able to read your thoughts put into words is a completely different experience.

    As for the piece, I loved that you explored this idea of perfection that we as humans constantly strive for, even though this level of beauty or genius can never truly be attained. What really intrigued me was the idea of flaws that you brought up, and that our flaws truly can make us the best possible versions of ourselves.

    One thing I would suggest to pursue is the idea of fatal flaws which you touched on at the beginning of the piece. I would really like to see that connecting to the text more so that the audience could gain both your take on it and a more contextual idea.

    Overall, I really enjoyed reading this piece and can’t wait to read more.

    Love,
    Alysha

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