X

X

12.04.2014

Face Off


Many weeks ago, I caught a glimpse of magazine covers at the end of the grocery checkout line that showed pictures of Renee Zellweger's new face.
My curiosity piqued, I decided to check google to see what the fuss was all about.
There was a lot of chatter and snark on the internet about exactly what procedures she underwent to alter her face.
The thing is, Renee Z. has always been able to change her appearance for movie roles.
'Tis always been one of her gifts.
That she has somehow changed her features, is not so much of a stretch. (no pun intended)
For me, the issue is not whether she had plastic surgery or not.
I am more interested in her decision to change her look.
I was not bothered by the change, just curious.  Humans intrigue me.
I wonder if her decision to change her face was like a rite of passage for her.
Like a shedding of a shell or persona no longer necessary nor desired.
Like a re-set button.  I get that.

Interestingly enough, a few days after Renee Z's story hit the internet, I watched a documentary that aired on ESPN about a woman named Carmen Tarleton who was beaten with a baseball bat by her estranged husband and then doused with industrial strength lye all over her face.  After years of grueling and painful surgeries, she was left with a face  that was very difficult to look at, and even more difficult to live with.
In 2013 Carmen was the recipient of a face transplant. Look this up and read more about this woman.

"When life gives you a big negative situation like I'd been through, if you can get through that, you can really find all of the blessings and all of the positive things that can come out that," she said. "And I found so much that I would not go back. I'm so much more blessed than I was then."
~Carmen Tarleton.


Considering it is the most visible part of the human body, the face is so important to one's personal identity.
Renee Zellweger's decision to change her face is her business.
In her industry, it may even be considered brave.
In my opinion, she is still the same actress, with the same gift for acting.
But the real hero here is Carmen.
Carmen Tarleton's ability to overcome all that she has gone through shows us that our face doesn't have to be important to one's personal identity.
She was willing to keep undergoing procedures and indescribable pain just so she could keep on living for her two daughters.
Some people may have even forgiven her if she chose to die, in which case, she would not have been able to inspire as many people as she is inspiring today. (will save that for another post)

She is an incredibly amazing woman.
She is inspiring.

My current eye-makeup sich is NOTHING.
I know I look different. But I will get over it...and eventually, you will tire of asking me if I am sick.