Watching the plastic-surgery victim Vishal Thakkar's story on YouTube shattered my heart. It's difficult to see someone forced to deal with so much sorrow for the rest of their lives as a result of a fast non-thinking decision.
“I was too selfish,” Thakkar, who is from New York, says of his decision to undergo nose surgery in Oklahoma, following his divorce in 2006.
Personally, I thought he looked fine before the surgery that changed his life.
Thakkar is now missing the end of his nose, requiring him to wear a medical mask to cover the gaping hole in his face.
As a result of a surgery gone wrong, he had to undergo 11 surgeries within 53 days in which tubes were inserted to assist with breathing.
The outcome raises the question: why would anyone put themselves through all of this?
I don’t get how people can do this to themselves not knowing if they’ll come out of the operating theatre alive. People spend a fortune on such trivial surgeries while others have no water to drink and die of hunger and thirst every day.
God asked us to value the body we have and not put it through anything that will harm it. Plastic surgeons don’t give you 100 per cent assurance of success – there is a risk it could go wrong. While you’re playing with your body, others are wishing to have a healthy one, freed from disease and illness.
Iran is known for having one of the highest percentages of women lining up for nose jobs. In my opinion, the more natural, the more beautiful you are.
Why would you want to be something you’re not? People these days want to have supermodel bodies, even though appearances aren’t everything. Teenagers must be taught that it depends on your genes; your body can only go to a certain extent. Of course, plastic surgeries can be performed on your lips, nose or teeth, but what many people may not know is that there are some chemicals that are not compatible with everyone’s body. They’re risky for one’s health and, after several years, the side effects may show. You may enjoy it for a year or two but, similar to everything else, it won’t last – it’s a temporary fix.
It’s a choice you make; you risk your health when instead you could choose to live a happy life with no well-being issues. Everyone needs to be careful when making huge decisions such as this since it’s your body, the one you’ll have to live in for the rest of your life. My advice: learn to live/love your age, instead of wanting to look younger. Learn to look great in your own skin.
Shamma Al Marri, 18, is a first-year general education student at Zayed University-Dubai. She is planning to major in international relations or psychology
If you are an Emirati woman with a good story to tell or an interesting issue to debate, contact Shireena Al Nowais on salnuwais@thenational.ae.
