It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but whose eyes do you look at yourself through? It seems to me that we as a society are trying to hard conforming to every new fad in outrageous efforts to be divergent, but never the less losing our uniqueness all together. In Conforming to Stand Out: A look at American Beauty the Author, Nick Ruggia explains his perception on American culture and the external changes we make to our physical appearance in efforts to fit in. In An Early Start the author, Harley Tong, describes his battle with his inability to conform to high school life and the fight he took on in order to live up to his potential. Self-worth has a different definition for everyone, but one things for sure. There is no magical wizard to show how to get home. The beginning of the essay, Conforming to Stand Out: A look at…show more content… Ruggia states that this was “once limited to sailors, criminals and punk rockers –and to men—body art have become a big business that is drawing in more women as it spreads.”(McWhorter, 324) There is no doubt that this fad has swept through the nation and it is becoming more and more common to see a person covered in tattoos with multiple piercings. Now to the extent of surgical implants and the bigger the gauge the better. Ruggia made some very strong points on how “Maybe Americans have gone too far in basing their self-worth on physical appearance.” (McWhorter, 324) It is as if they are never satisfied with the end result. A change in hairstyle and a new wardrobe can definitely boost your confidence in the short term, but it’s questionable as to how long that last. Physical appearance has its purpose, but altering it shouldn’t leave you wishing you would have used your brain later on down the road. As Ruggia states,” Basing self-esteem on physical appearance, a fleeting commodity at best, is a recipe for misery.”(McWhorter,