Retouching Too Much

My son has picture day this week, and as I was looking over the picture
package choices, I was surprised by the retouching options. The option to
remove blemishes seemed innocent enough (although I survived 12 years
of school pictures with no retouching), but it was the other option that took
it too far for me. Now you can get your child's teeth whitened and skin tone
evened out as well. To me, this much retouching is too much.

These are school children taking pictures for a yearbook, not a magazine
spread. What happens when a child wants the retouching and the parent
can't afford the extra cost for the retouching? What if a parent has the photos
retouched without telling their child his photos would be retouched?

There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good in a picture, but removing
every imperfection is teaching children that they should look perfect and that
is just wrong.

Are You Your Best Self?

Are you doing your best and being the best person you can be? Only you
know the answer to that question, but if you're not in a good place right
now, maybe there is something you can change. If you have enough time
to be on the internet or on your cellphone for hours and hours; you have
enough time to improve yourself.

When I talk about improving yourself I mean taking baby steps. For ex-
ample, if you're unorganized, try to set aside at least ten minutes a day to
organize a small area in your house or office.

When you're at work are you giving 100 percent? If you aren't, whether
you believe it or not, your boss knows if you're giving 100 percent. If
you're a slacker you're hurting yourself and the company.

When you say you're going to do something do you actually do it, or are
you known for being unreliable? If you know you can't do something, or
you never intended to do so in the first place, don't lie about it.

For all of us, there is room for improvement. Make it a goal to try to
be your best self every day.