What is Beauty?

I am in my Asian Literature class and we are discussing the obsession Asians have with Western culture.
In fact, there is a plastic surgeon in Korea that creates a double-folding eyelid. Americans have double-folding eyelids and the Asian culture is one of the only cultures that have single-folding eyelids causing their eyes to have that small almond shape.
When my professor told us that, it frightened me.
We as Americans focus on looking beautiful. We think we need to have long beautiful straight hair and a size 2 waist to be beautiful. We need to have tan skin and long legs.
In the Asian culture, white skin is beautiful, black hair is a symbol of youth and perfection.

This is terrifying.

We, as humans, don't like anything we are given.
We want something different than we are given.
I am so guilty of this.
I want straight hair, so I straighten my curly hair every single day.
Girls spend billions of dollars a year tanning their skin, dying, straightening, perming and getting extensions in their hair.
We are never satisfied.
Women in Asia bleach their skin... BLEACH! They even get surgery to look more "American"
WHAT?!
To me that sounds crazy, but then again so does burning your skin.
We will do anything to be called "beautiful" in our culture.

Beauty.
What is Beauty?

I think beauty is the lack of perfection, yet I long for it.
I hate my curly hair.
I hate my height and at times my waist size makes me want to go on a hunger strike.
But why?

I am healthy
I am smart
I am made in God's Image, therefore I am perfect, yet I constantly feel less than that.
I have been given everything I need, yet I want more. I need to look different, to look smart, pretty, sexy, attractive....
Why?

If perfection is impossible, why to we try so hard to match "perfection" in our own culture?
Why must we rebel against our God given looks to strive for something that is impossible to obtain?

Just food for thought.