by Hannah Penfield

Created on: June 28, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

The most important thing is not about being smart or beautiful; it is never to restrict one's self to a mere category. Every human being is complex. "Smart," "beautiful," or any other one-word term is not enough to encompass the complexities of one person. No one should allow themselves to be put in a box this way.

However, for the sake of the prompt, that shall be set aside to pass judgment on whether intelligence or beauty is more important. In the opinion of this author, being smart is more important than being beautiful. When a person is intelligent, they can discover things about themselves that are more significant than their physical appearance. By being knowledgeable, they understand that looks merely reflect nothing more than "what you see is what you get." Intelligence can give one's life more meaning than mere attractiveness alone.

Intelligence expands one's own horizons and one's awareness of the world. This opens up opportunities that people who are simply visually appealing do not have. While often people's first assumptions are based on the visual, the long-lasting judgments are based on what the other person says, thinks, and believes. Relationships are really founded in the intellect of the individuals involved. That makes intelligence much more essential to life than a nice appearance.

The places that beauty can get you are much more limited. Beauty can't expand horizons. Beauty can't build a strong, lasting relationship. Beauty cannot give life more meaning. However, it can give a person certain opportunities. Beauty can fuel very passionate relationships based on physical attraction. Beauty can present you with employment in the entertainment industry and at other places where attractiveness is important. Beauty can get a person a lot of attention from the opposite sex.

The ultimate thing that makes intelligence more important than beauty is that intelligence often makes a person more beautiful. While a person may be downright unattractive, once someone realizes that person's intelligence, it can often subconsciously improve one's opinion of that person's appearance. They do say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" for a reason. A sharp mind enhances the appearance, whether anyone consciously realizes it or not.
Despite the fact that I have made the argument of intelligence over beauty, as previously stated, people should not force themselves into labels that do not fully describe them. No one, not even the simplest person in the world, can fit into the simple mold of "smart," "beautiful," "stupid," or "ugly." People should learn to describe themselves with a variety of adjectives that they feel completely define them as a person. Or, better yet, don't describe one's self with words but with actions.

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