Do you consider yourself pretty?
Well, yes I do. But my country and the people around me do not.
I never got the perks attractive people receive until I went to Japan. I have also never had anyone (openly) hit on me/confess their feelings until one year ago when I was 19 and I never received attention for being pretty. I think it might have something to do with the beauty standards in my country, Slovakia. Where I live, tan, “exotic” looking, tall, model-like girls are considered attractive.
But I look nothing like that. I’m very pale, short-ish with light brown hair naturally (now it’s dyed red) and very round features. Until I came to Japan, I felt kinda ugly. But in Japan, I really experienced what is it like to feel pretty. I got random compliments from strangers, got asked if I was a model and all my friends from Japan just stared at me in disbelief when I told them I hadn’t really considered myself pretty before I came there. I had originally thought that they were complimenting me so much just because I was of a different race, but when I learned about the Japanese beauty standards, I came to realise that I really do fit almost all of them and whether I feel pretty or not mostly depends on what’s considered “pretty” in the country I live at the moment.
Eventually, I just decided to live with the mindset that I had when I was in Japan - that I am pretty. I am trying to stop caring whether I am receiving attention for my looks or not and simply trying to love myself.
To the “you were only pretty because you were a foreigner” comments: Yes, it did play a role in the way people perceived me in Japan, as I mentioned in my answer above. No, it was not the only reason why “I was pretty” there. I know other white foreigners my age, who had a bit different experiences.
I did not, in any way, mean to make my country look bad while writing my answer. I love the place I was born in, no matter what beauty standards there are.
Last but not least: I am considering deleting this answer because I realise that it might sound like I am fishing for compliments. I am not, and I’m not used to this kind of attention. The point of this answer was to express that I chose to live with the mindset I had in Japan, that’s it. Anyways, thank you for all the positive response!