Preview

Vanity Is a Virtue

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
596 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Vanity Is a Virtue
Vanity is a Virtue

Okay, I’ll admit that I like what I see when I look in the mirror. And even though I’m quite nervous talking in front of you, capturing the attention of a number of students, with all your eyes and ears on me, feels very fulfilling. Say it. It’s vanity. And yes, I am vain. So, as vain as I am, I’m going to stand before you today and prove that vanity is not a dreadful thing. Vanity is a moral excellence. Foremost, let us scrutinize Mr. Webster’s definition of vanity – an excessive pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; the character or quality of being vain. Vanity is far beyond that definition. Vanity, after all is not a sin, it’s not a bad thing. Some said that it is associated with pride and that being vain is being futile and worthless. But, I’ll firmly say this to you – vanity is more than that, vanity is just the better side of self-love, self-confirmation. Vanity is needed just like self-esteem. Without vanity we would never feel good about ourselves. Seeking self satisfaction is after all the key in what living our lives to our fullest expectations are based. Just as self esteem boosts one's thoughts and beliefs, vanity boosts our image and satisfaction of ourselves. We are after all by ourselves in this world. Vanity is providing self-affirmation of what we think we are, making us love ourselves more. It is self-confirmation, it is knowing the difference between what others tell you and what you may or may not be in life, it is gaining more respect for ourselves.
Although the word "vain" has taken on lots of negative connotations, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with it. All of us are vain – in our own ways. I am vain because I believe in my capabilities and in my spirit that I will be a CPA Lawyer. I am vain because I am proud that I was fashioned in God’s image and likeness. I am vain because I want you to believe me, to convince you that vanity is a virtue.
Vanity like anything in excess is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    However as Zamperini points out; “The difference between recognition and attention is self esteem.”(Zamperini 21) Do people seek attention or recognition? The key lies in whether the individual has self esteem, whether or not they feel worthy of positive attention. One can break the detrimental cycle of self loathing “through hard work and accomplishments” (21) as Zamperini notes. Everyone deserves the sense of bliss that accompanies high self-esteem, they just might have to work for…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the opening verses of “Mirror,” the narrator commences its narration by declaring itself neutral. It announces it has “no preconceptions” and without bias or emotions it will metaphorically “swallow immediately” what it needs as it is “unmisted by love or dislike”. It is the truth which causes much grief to a woman who visits it each day. Unlike Plath’s poem, Harwood’s omniscient narrator describes a woman who’s “clothes are out of date” to further enhance the…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lisa Kramer Distortion

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many societies throughout history have had their own distinctive concepts and standards of what is and is not deemed attractive, especially when it comes to the physical appearance of one’s self. Judging your own appearance is an inescapable human trait and the way different societies have portrayed the ‘ideal’ individual’s appearance has in fact influenced and altered our appearance. Lisa Kramer, Auguste Toulmouche and Pablo Picasso all used the mirror to symbolize a reflection to which figures can practice harsh self judgment or vanity. The overall message communicated by these three artists have been greatly impacted by the historical context of their time. It effected the way the artists represented the figure’s distortion of self and demonstrated subjects harsh self-judgement or vanity.…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." (18)…

    • 1315 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Uglies By Scott Westerfled

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Life isn’t about impressing others, but it’s about impressing yourself, proving yourself wrong, making yourself proud, and lastly live life to impress yourself, not others, because in the end of the day you have to wake up with yourself every morning, with the same flaws, and the same imperfections, so learn to be thankful for what you have rather than wishing for other things. Life isn’t about money, or how much money you make, but it’s about how many lives you’ve changed. Wishes come true, but in reality, hard work is wishing, your wishes never come true, you make them come true. In this book, Tally takes her beauty for granted; she always insults herself, calls herself ugly and never accepts the true beauty she has. She wishes every single day that she was a pretty; she hides herself from the public sometimes, because she can’t stand her face. She constantly reminds herself that there is a pretty side to the world, and she isn’t in it, nevertheless she is included…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    J. Mahaney describes immodesty this way: “Immodesty, is much more than wearing a short skirt or low-cut top; it’s the act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It’s pride, on display by what you wear.” And that can be pride in your looks, your taste, or your purchasing power…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The protagonist of the story, Connie, is a vain, “typical” teenage girl, looking for attention, especially from the opposite sex. Constantly “…craning her neck to glance in mirrors” (614), she often considered her appearance and how she looked to others to be a matter of extreme, if not most, importance.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vanity vs Honesty

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many people find themselves caught up in the everyday acts of vanity and honesty. Everyday people make decisions out of honesty or out of vanity. The changing of our society in everyday life is due to vanity. Even though most people are constantly acting out of vanity, you will find in some cases when circumstances change, people act more honestly, but ultimately vanity rules over honesty.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Adam Docs

    • 2212 Words
    • 9 Pages

    One’s self-pride is a variation of pride in which everyone agrees about. This kind of pride includes physical parts such as what someone look like and what someone sound like along with others. There are also mental aspects of it also such as what someone wants everyone else to think about them, what someone thinks about them, or what someone thinks about everything else. Most people take what everyone else thinks of themselves and tries to make it so that everyone thinks highly of them.…

    • 2212 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, it may seem shallow to care a whole lot about one’s appearance, but according to Daniel Akst’s essay “What Meets the Eye”, we learn that in many ways, appearances actually serve as a source of inequality. In his expository piece, Akst probes into the importance of appearances in our society today; he explores the role that beauty plays in everyday life and and how it influences society. Akst makes numerous interesting discoveries on the role of appearances in society, but several of his arguments don’t seem to be well-argued.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    JANE EYRE

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer: I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth; I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a…

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We all share this unpleasant habit of gossiping about other women’s bodies, personal lives, and actions. Everyone has done it at some point, but when does it become too much? Why do we think we are entitled to judge another women or man’s entire existence? My theory is simple yet so complicated that we struggle so immensely with it. Self-love. We struggle to love our selves that we turn into this ugly person who fends off a satisfaction of making others feel low. We have to change this horrid habit, and start focusing on our selves. It’s time to focus on the beauty that each and every one of us has. I see too many women/men who wish they had the bodies of others, and the confidence that they have. However, every one of us has these delicate bodies we’re just missing one thing. Self- love. This is the key to our happiness, and it starts with us. For some reason this has been a huge topic on my mind twenty-four seven, and I’m tired of seeing it around in my life. Promoting and sharing with others just how vital this is to our society has to be done. Not everyone will listen, and some will but fail miserably in applying it to their own lives. But it begins with you, and the people you surround yourselves. I want to continue to express just how important this is to all those who surround me. Of course always reminding myself just how imperative this is to my own well-being. It’s time for us to be comfortable in our own skin, stand up for ourselves, and love ourselves…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Melinda goes through her freshman year of high school feeling like a social outcast, she feels that mirrors show what she does not want to be. When she looks in the mirror, she thinks "it looks like my mouth belongs to someone else, someone I don't even know" (17). Melinda never seems to find a good trait or feeling in herself, and mirrors just tend to make it worse. She doesn’t like what she sees, and always tries to hide or take down anything that shows her reflection. When she finds the closet space, one of her first thoughts was "the first thing that has to go is the mirror" (50). Her view of herself shows that she almost doesn’t even care anymore. Melinda goes to Effert’s one day, as instructed by her mom, to find some clothes that she likes. As Melinda steps out in front of the three-way mirror, the first thought on her mind is "eyes after eyes stare back at me, am I in there somewhere" (124). Melinda usually feels that she doesn’t know who she is anymore, and wishes for a new skin to start over in. Her thoughts shape what she thinks she sees instead of what she should be seeing in the mirror.…

    • 810 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the Gym

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Imagine yourself at the gym, everyone there with the same objective, to improve the way they look. This can be thought of in one simple word, vanity. Mark Doty used metaphors to give this concept a deeper meaning. As we prepare to start our workout, we look at the vinyl bench and notice a “salt-stained spot” (1). This salt-stain is dried up sweat left from the person that used the bench before us. It symbolizes the struggle and work that was put in by the previous users and soon to be added by you. Why were these people working so hard and why am I getting ready to do the same? The next passage says “lay down their heads, back to the bench, and hoist nothing that need be lifted” (3-6). This obviously is talking about lifting the weights, metaphorically speaking, is talking about completing unnecessary tasks. The tasks are burdens that are brought on by our selves not once, but over and over again expressed in gym terms as “more reps, more weight” (8-9). The action of lifting the weights can be seen as burdens that we as humans must…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the political sense, vanity comes from one’s connections. Lady Catherine thinks that connections are all that matters in life. Lady Catherine threatens Elizabeth by saying, “You will be censure, slighted, and despised, by every one connected with him. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never be…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays