By Cassidy Hamilton

Staff Writer

Spring is here, and with the change of seasons comes the necessity to adjust our habits in order to protect our skin from the sun, especially while living in southern California.

At this point in the year, it is widely accepted that most people would prefer a tan; darker complexion than a fair one. This preference in appearance would not be much of a threat to society if it were not for the measures that so many people, especially girls, take in order to achieve this look, which is unnatural for many people to begin with.

According to the CDC, Center of Disease Control, 29 percent of white high school girls have partaken in “Indoor Tanning,” or tanning beds, which expose users to UVA and UVB rays, which are both damaging to the skin and linked to the development of skin cancer. People who begin using tanning beds before age 35 also have a 75 percent increased chance of developing skin cancer. Is all of this worth faking a complexion you were not naturally born with or are naturally inclined to develop?

Among my Cambodian and African-American friends back home, having a lighter complexion is praised, and they pride themselves on being “light-skinned” relative to other darker members of their same race. So why are so many of us so unwilling to accept what we were born with? If you’re a fair-skinned white girl, it is so desired to have a tan, and yet, on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re of south Asian or African descent that typically characterized by a deeper complexion, being “light-skinned” among the community is praised. It’s a spectrum of dissatisfaction with only a fine, middle ground to be happy with oneself.

Last December, my dermatologist found an early stage melanoma on the outside of my left arm. I now have a two-inch long, pink scar on my outer arm, which draws a bit of attention. My health was not seriously at risk because they caught it early, but I will never forget the reality check that incident provided me with. I had my years of trying to fit the tan, beach goddess type. I used to lay out and tan, during my middle school and early high school years. But now, at 19 years old, I have learned to accept myself for what I was born with. I’m a second-generation child of Irish immigrants, and I was simply not meant to have that bronzed skin that I so longingly wished for throughout high school.

This issue is about more than just desiring a tan. It is about being happy with what you see in the mirror when you wake up every morning. To those of you who were born with skin that tans easily, more power to you, many would love to have those genes. But it is too easily forgotten that beauty is not a number or a level that must be reached, but rather, a spectrum of variety that should be cherished for what it is: varied.

After all this, the message I’m trying to put out here is that it not worth compromising your health to be something you were not meant to be. If anything, get a spray tan, get some lotion, but for the sake of your body’s well-being and overall health, avoid the tanning beds this summer.