None can be called deformed but the unkind

At a moment when he believes he has been betrayed, Antonio makes a profound statement: "In nature there's no blemish but the unkind; None can be called deformed but the unkind" (Twelfth Night, 3.4.386-87). I've been thinking about beauty a lot lately. Last night, me and my roommates watched the movie Wonder, and I was reminded how much I love the message of that story. Even though the other children are somewhat scared of August's face when they first see him, those that give him a chance and actually talk to him find that August Pullman is a funny, nice person, completely normal and the same as everyone else on the inside. By the end of the story, Jack Will, Summer, nor any of the other kids who got to know Auggie would call him "deformed," because they have gotten to see who he really is. I frequently become way too concerned with how I look. I get annoyed at my nose for being unattractive or my hips for being too wide, and I fall into this trap of thinking that others are going to see me the same way I see myself; deformed, unwanted, unimportant. But when I think about the people I value in my life, I realize that I never look at them for how they look. I don't base my love for my friends and family members on their physical appearance, and the thought of doing so is absolutely ridiculous! So why should I think that others would be any different? Why do I allow myself to worry about what people think of my appearance, when people who would judge me based on my worldly beauty are people that I wouldn't ever want to be friends with anyways? I loved this quote from Antonio because it was a good reminder to step back and focus on what really matters, and that is our hearts. Truly, "none can be called deformed but the unkind."

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