Pretty privilege is the belief that people who are viewed as more physically attractive are treated to a different set of guidelines as their peers who may be less physically attractive.

     According to a study by Markus M. Mobius and Tanya S. Rosenblat, attractive people are seen as better workers by their employers. In the same research that defined the term “beauty premium”, a study was conducted to determine the effects of beauty on the hiring process. Within it, employers viewing photographs of potential employees were inclined to increase salaries by nearly 10.5% to attractive people.

     As much as I want this article to speak in regards to how to eliminate the pretty privilege, I simply do not have that power. What I offer in return is the ability to win the game that is “The beauty premium.”

     First, your appearance matters, not how you look, but how you appear to others. You cannot change how you look, you must embrace that to the absolute fullest. Presentation is the aspect of appearance that you can control. Presentation is a hard art to master, however knowing how to fit into the situation you are in is an absolute must, if you are going to stand out, do it right. Simply dressing well and putting yourself off as someone who cares about their appearance often puts you in a higher category in terms of “beauty” than the person who consistently dresses in sweatpants and a hoodie regardless of their looks.

     Second, Confidence, if you believe that you are below everyone, this will lead to everyone seeing you the same way you see yourself. View yourself with pride, do not look into a classroom and believe you are better than everyone, instead view a classroom as merely an audience in which hatred or positivity do not matter, their attention does not matter. What truly matters is how you see yourself in the moment, if you feel confident, you will subconsciously act as a higher standing individual and teenagers and young adults do not often have the mind to go against this. Most everyone will simply fall into your mentality and you will realize that merely having confidence sets you so much higher socially and in your own mind.

     Third and lastly, oral skills such as communication and socializing are the absolute easiest way to win the game, if dressing nicely is out of the picture, and your confidence is lacking, learning how to speak clearly and with a purpose oftentimes stands out in the crowd. Picture that one person you know that can break an entire group out of awkward silence no matter how much talking they do, even when they are nearly the only one talking, you never really notice because they have the ability to keep everyone entertained and talking back. These are the quiet skills that push you above others, these are the small things that make a massive difference. 

     With these three simple tricks in mind, you can run your world. By keeping presentation, confidence, and communication in your mind with every beating heart that you encounter throughout your life, you will rise much higher in not only others minds, but your own as well. In the end, your opinion is the only one that will ever affect you, even when others are being negative, their opinion only gets to you when you let it. Do not let the water around the ship in, only then will the ship sink.