beauty products make you temporarily beautiful exercise makes you beautiful for life
I am a photographer, a marathon course photographer.
Recently, I have written several articles about running and photography. They are casual essays, written as thoughts come to mind or as events occur. I love the freedom and exuberance of marathons, admire the elite male runners, appreciate the beautiful female runners, and find myself deeply immersed, unable to extricate myself.
When someone first suggested that I write about the beautiful women on the course, I immediately felt like I was back in school, turning in an exam. Thinking back, the last time I did a topic-based writing was for my graduation thesis a long, long time ago, and it certainly wasn't about beautiful women.
Aren't beautiful women born that way?
Some people are naturally beautiful, with good looks, great figures, and an indescribable aura.
How can one write about beautiful women? As a photographer, I can certainly take photos, choose the right angles, press the shutter, and then use Photoshop to fix hairstyles, shape eyebrows, enlarge eyes, enhance noses, shape lips, sharpen chins, smooth skin, whiten, slim faces, fill temples, push in cheekbones, remove jawbones, and perform all sorts of major surgeries. Instantly, everyone becomes a beauty. The beautification features on mobile phones are nothing compared to Photoshop; I can make everyone look like Bingbing.
The love of beauty is innate. Scrolling through social media, even the little dark-skinned girl who played in the mud with you as a child now looks like a fairy. With some effort in dressing up and a bit of beautification in selfies, everyone can be a beauty. This kind of beauty may be innate, but outward beauty is only superficial. Although it is real, it is also illusory.
On December 10th, the Guangzhou Marathon concluded amidst the constant switch between reality and illusion. It was still full of freedom and exuberance, elite male runners, beautiful female runners, laughter, and joy, deeply immersing everyone.
After the race, under strong orders, I attended a grand hotpot gathering. Unexpectedly, several virtual running circle celebrity beauties showed up. It was an honor; I had always seen them through the lens, and now I finally met the real people. To my surprise, I, who am usually face-blind, recognized them at a glance without any surprises.
But even experienced drivers can have accidents. One of them, despite several reminders, I still didn't recognize. Even though I had encountered her several times on the course. This lady looked quite beautiful on the course, but with her hair down and glasses on, I just couldn't recognize her. It was quite awkward.
As the aroma of hotpot wafted into my nostrils, the awkwardness gradually disappeared. I can't remember what we ate or what we talked about. I just know everyone was very happy. Why were we happy? I don't know. People are grouped by their interests, and meeting an interesting soul even briefly is satisfying.
But throughout, I felt they were missing something, or rather, I felt something was off. I kept thinking while eating, and eating while thinking, but couldn't figure it out even after finishing the meal.
Returning home with the smell of hotpot all over me, I remembered I still had an assignment to write about beautiful women.
As a photographer, when I'm particularly puzzled, I like to flip through my photo albums. The moments captured in each frame often inspire me. Sure enough, after looking at a few photos, all my questions were resolved.
I felt a sense of relief. I found the beauties, all of them, and now I could submit my article.
Beautiful women are not born.
Through countless photos, I discovered that as long as a female runner is serious about running and in good condition, each one exudes a unique charm. This charm is not about high looks, makeup, or beautification.
It is a kind of confidence, a belief, an energy. This charm bursts forth from within, with every pore exuding the vitality of exercise, filled with dopamine, brimming with the spirit of freedom and exuberance, with a charming smile at the corner of the mouth, choosing sweat over perfume, fearless and forging ahead.
No matter how beautiful the face, at this moment, it is illusory. Only the real sensation of exercise, truly experiencing the pain and joy of running a marathon, and releasing oneself in real-time, can blossom into the most beautiful life.
Through the lens capturing each photo, I seem to be back on the course, seeing each vibrant hormone fairy floating past me. At that moment, you are the goddess in my heart, and every smile is intoxicating.
It has nothing to do with age, height, looks, or skin color, but with a unique spirit of exercise. As long as you move, run, smile, and show yourself, you are the most beautiful you.
Beautiful women are not born.
A marathon is a huge stage, and every participant is the leading lady, director, and screenwriter. But being such an actor is not easy; it takes a huge effort to maintain that charm. Behind every 42 kilometers are many more 42 kilometers of accumulation, and this accumulation itself is a sedimentation of charm.
But off this stage, after eating hotpot together, even the most beautiful internet celebrities seem like the girl next door. Taking off that cool marathon gear, shedding the pain and joy of the course, they seem like ordinary people. Because in my heart, they are the most charming actors on this stage. But at that moment, we were barefaced, chatting about everything under the sun, and eating hotpot together.
The hotpot beauties are real, but the ones on the course define the true meaning of reality.
The two states coexist in parallel; it was just me who didn't switch channels in time.
Beautiful women are not born.
People who consistently exercise carry a halo of charm. This halo cannot be achieved through beautification, nor can it be manifested overnight.
As a marathon photographer, my goal is to capture these most charming moments. These moments make people more fascinated by exercise, and they might not even believe that they can be so cool and beautiful. Is this really me?
The lens won't answer you, nor will it lie. Through the lens, I tell you, this is you, the most beautiful you.
I also hope to tell you that if you need motivation to run a marathon, this is one of the greatest motivations to finish, and also one of the motivations to maintain a positive spirit in the long term.
Beautification can only make you beautiful for a moment, with no substance,but exercise can make you beautiful for a lifetime, benefiting you forever.
I am @Dai Wu Yan, I am a photographer,I am waiting for the most beautiful you on the course.