When given the choice between being fat and happy, or skinny and miserable, which would you select?
For me the answer is simple; I’d pick choosing to be skinny and miserable. I know how that sounds. It sounds superficial, but I’ll use my age as my excuse, even though it should not count for anything.

Ideally, a person should be judges on their personality and inner beauty, at least that is what everyone tells you. In reality though, people are first perceived and judged before their mouth can ever open, meaning appearance counts for so much more than conveyed in society.

I’ll be the first to admit what I do; I judge people on appearance mainly and then when I get to know them my views will change. It’s not healthy, but it’s how I’m wired. It’s how society is; crass, classless and rude. Maybe in a few years when my first grey hair pops up, or my boobs start to sag, or my teeth turn yellow, or worse, I get a wrinkle, maybe then I’ll start seeing inner beauty radiate from the outside. Maybe a curse should be placed on me like Jack Black in the movie “Shallow Hal.” Still though, I don’t know if that would help me or not.

Throughout my life I have never been happy with my weight, making me unhappy anyways, so why wouldn’t I choose to have something good going for me in regards to being able to wear whatever I want if I were skinny? And being skinny would make me happy so I really wouldn’t be miserable in the end. So using my logic being skinny would ultimately make me happy.

Lauren Slater wrote a story for Self magazine, which can be viewed at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36202611/ns/today-today_health/, in which she told of her struggles with the same question; be fat and happy or thin and sad.

You see, Slater suffers from depression. The medication prescribed to her would cause weight gain. Was happiness worth giving something up? Isn’t the point of being happy having everything you want and need? For me, having everything I want and need has everything to do with my appearance.

Everyone has their own definition of what makes them happy. Maybe real happiness is not judging anyone and just accepting them in the end for who they are because, if how they look makes them happy, than maybe we should not be so quick to judge them.