CHANGING TRENDS.

I was in the company of some of my colleagues at work. We were all seated in a lounge where we took in fresh air before our shift started; it was sort of a "meeting" room. We engaged in petty arguments and chit-chats with the people we were familiar with. Every one was engaged in their own small way trying to blow off some steam or be filled in on the latest happenings in the latest telenovela (for the ladies). The guys were caught up in the sporting events that had taken place around the world. I guess you can imagine the chaotic scene I am trying to create now. Everyone had something to say and everyone wanted to be heard. Our attention was drawn to the entrance to the room when one other female colleague walked in. All of a sudden, the whole place had gone silent and all eyes were on her. Only God knows how she managed to walk in to find a place to sit with all those eyes staring at her. She found a spot to sit and started chatting with the other ladies. Soon, she acclimatized herself with the happenings in the room. I began eavesdropping on their conversation. They were talking about fashion and how to look good. It's quite amazing the way the trends of fashion have taken a twist. There seems to be an adjustment or synthetic replacement for every part of the body nowadays. I thought to myself that beauty is not what it was anymore. If there was any time that the saying "appearance is deceptive" was to come to play, it would be now in the world of fashion and looking attractive. I realized that women had to go through a lot of stress just to look good. At first, they had to make sure that their outward appearance was spot on and their make up  was living up to the hype. Nowadays, they even adjust the "unseen" parts of the body so as to upgrade the "seen" parts. Women now put on all kinds of pads including breasts pads, hip pads and bum pads. These "adjustments" make women appear outwardly attractive but I find myself asking if they think God did a "half-baked" job when he created them because the way they "add up" to God's touch is amazing. I realized that women had a lot of fears; looking good and being in vogue with the changing trends of fashion were some of them. I would not blame them for going through all this stress; men are moved by what we see. Looking good was therefore a prerequisite to getting noticed. It's quite amazing also how women can stare at other women who have "out dressed" them. They would talk nonstop about that particular woman till they are able to break down what she is wearing from head to toe. One lady was recounting such a situation. She was attending an event and felt she had "dressed to kill" but upon reaching the venue for the event, she realized that the other ladies had made "nonsense" of what she was wearing. I do not know much but one thing I know is that women hate to be in competition with other women. It makes them feel inferior sometimes and cannot appreciate their own kind of beauty. In the mist of all this revelation, I thought to myself how these "adjustment ladies" were going to explain themselves should their secret be revealed or if they had to appear in their birthday suits for the obvious. I bet their significant other would be very disappointed and would exclaim "this is not what I bargained for". It is true that men are attracted by what they see but if a man sees your real features and he likes it, nothing can change his mind. Sometimes I consider myself somewhat lucky to be a guy. I do not have to add any "additional features" to my body, I do not have to worry so much about the dress I have on even if I have to wear that same dress three times in the same week. You would be amazed when you get to know the number of times some guys wear some "gears" in a week. You would rarely find guys analyzing the clothes another guy has on. That would be very absurd. In all this fashion frenzy, I was not so much concerned about the changing trends of fashion, I was thinking about change in general and how it affected us as humans. Sometimes you get to wonder if the passage of time is just history relived because the things that we used to put on and have forgotten are the things that are in vogue today. I also wondered if it was appropriate to change with time so as to live in time or to stay true to who you are despite the changing hands of time. Change is good and it is sometimes a prerequisite for development and self-assessment. I just want to know if every change is necessary. Everyone is special and beautiful in their own way. Be your own kind of beautiful. My name is Edwin Oko Lamptey and this is a "designer" R.A.T (RANDOM AFRICAN THOUGHT). More at randomafricanthoughts.blogspot.com