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Yvonne Furaha

Professor Strehle

English 1201

20 June 2020

Scars To Your Beautiful

Many girls in today’s generation struggle with confidence and loving themselves. In most

cases females feel forced in situations and in those many cases they feel as if they are defeated

by society. That is because society pressures them to be like everyone else. In certain ways

society manipulates females into thinking they have to look a certain way in order to be

beautiful. What the world doesn’t tell them is that their differences are their strengths. On the

other hand, the song "Scars To Your Beautiful" by both artists insures us that we are beautiful

and unique in our own way because our scars make up our story.

“Scars To Your Beautiful” was published in 2016 by Alessia Cara. She wrote that very

inspirational song to all the girls struggling with self acceptance. Alessia states that “scars to

your beautiful is a reminder that beauty isn’t only on look, shape, size, or colour. It isn’t even

always tangible. It comes in endless amounts of forms and we need to realise that.” I believe this

shows the audience, which is mainly females that no matter who you are, you are beautiful just

the way you are. In 2015 she released a single about being uncomfortable at a party, which later

became viral. Growing up she was a shy outcast who eventually came out of her shell. With the

help of her mom, she grew up being repeatedly told to embrace herself and never be afraid to be

different. She believes that the world should change what it thinks of an individual, instead of an

individual changing for the world because there is beauty inside of them. Her song “Scars To
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Your Beautiful” was partnered up with a nationwide movement “I Am That Girl” with the goal

of motivating girls to love themselves and express themselves without fear. Alessia has found a

way into the industry with her real image of herself. She never had to change her appearance to

impress anyone. The video of this song shows raw truthful content. It has little anecdotes of

people telling their story. The goal of the video is to show a story behind each person’s scar,

whether that is internally or externally. There are a variety of characters in the video, including

male and obviously females. They show no fear behind each scar on them. Within their story,

they also have a background that relates to their life. Each setting is very diverse from each

individual.

Alex G exemplifies another diverse background in her cover of “Scars To Your

Beautiful.” In her video, she also shows raw content. The only difference of the cover to the

original song is the setting. The setting of the cover music is illustrated outside with her guitar.

Within the video, Alex aims to show her scars which exemplifies that she relates to the song and

her message. I love that her video is very sentimental and touching. It gives the audience an idea

of her story. Alex G is a bisexual woman who wants to be a voice to those who struggle with

feeling unheard. After accepting herself for who she is, she claimed her identity and she began to

be okay with it. Alex realised that no one could ever tell her who she is because each person

came with a different opinion of her. The most important thing you can do no matter who you

are is to accept yourself. No one’s love will ever fulfill your heart until you love yourself first.

She was willing to get rid of all of her shame and religious baggage. In the end, she wants to be a

helpful resource to anyone by letting them know they are not alone.
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After watching these two marvelous videos, I have come to a conclusion that they are

similar in a way. Both artists seek to be a refuge to those struggling to claim their identity. These

two videos state a message for young individuals that there is no need to hide themselves in

order to feel beautiful or worth it, they are perfect for who they are. Alessia and Alex had the

fear of showing the world who they truly are. As they learned to love their flaws and scars, they

began to claim their identity. They were no longer shy or self-conscious. They became a warrior

in the journey they chose to take. Scars and past insecurities is what makes them unique and their

story special.
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Works Cited

Blue, Alex. “My Story | Bisexuality | Alex G.” ​YouTube,​ YouTube, 11 Oct. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4GQnDAcafA​. ​Accessed 16 Jun. 2020.

Blue, Alex. “Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara | Alex G Cover.” ​YouTube,​ YouTube,

15 July 2016, ​www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMdlzOeqmY​.​ Accessed 17 Jun. 2020.

Cara, Alessia. “Alessia Cara - Scars To Your Beautiful (Official Video).” ​YouTube​,

YouTube, 11 July 2016, ​www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWASeaYuHZo​.​ Accessed 17

Jun.

2020.

Cara, Alessia. “Alessia Cara Tells The Story Behind ‘Scars To Your Beautiful.’” ​ABC News,​

ABC News Network, 8 Aug. 2016,

abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/alessia-cara-tells-story-scars-beautiful-41211266.

Accessed 16 Jun. 2020.

Cara, Alessia. “Alessia Cara: Her Life Story.” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 21 Oct. 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNpT2VRbaJQ.​ Accessed 16 Jun. 2020.

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