It's a sad day when a 21 year old girl decides it is imperative that she place herself under the mercy of the botox needle to rid herself of a "wrinkle" only visible to her and to plump up lips that have no need for such a procedure. It is a sadder day still, when an older woman whom this girl looks up to and admires, irresponsibly agrees that Botox is a superb invention designed to temporarily halt the "sin" of getting older.

For one of the few times in my life thus far, I sat speechless witnessing this conversation taking place before me. Perhaps it was because I have only read about women who are on a perpetual quest to rid themselves of every naturally occurring "flaw" on their bodies. But to actually sit in on a real live, dangerously misguided conversation set my mind reeling.

While I'm fully aware of the various problems we face due to the expectations of society, media, fashion and the like, it was hearing it first hand by women who I have always deemed tremendously attractive that totally perplexed me.

We place such importance on outer beauty when that's the one thing that is made to fade in time. No amount of plastic surgery will let you fully regain your physical youth without the risk of making you look like a creepy plastic puppet gone wrong.

I believe we were made to grow old for a reason. Surely life wouldn't throw wrinkles and crow feet our way unless there was a lesson to be learned. Maybe when we begin to lose our youth, it becomes time to assess how we have grown as a person. To pay attention to what sort of heart-print you would like to leave upon the many people in your life. To ask yourself how you would want to be remembered in the smallest way to the biggest. To start accepting that it's completely okay not to be a "perfect" size 00 with the skin of a 20 year old, and to stress the importance of being healthy and seeking a much deeper form of happiness.

At the risk of sounding like the next anti-plastic preaching prophet, at the end of the day, I'd like to think that the one thing that would be most scarring and far outweigh any physical insult hurled at anyone, would be to discover that they were ugly on the inside.

Now I am certainly no anti-shaving, non make-up wearing hippy. I routinely put aside ample time for my daily grooming rituals and I have been known to occasionally steal a look or three at my reflection in a passing mirror. But it really saddened me to see this undeniably pretty woman want to subject

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