Have you ever sat in a busy coffee shop with one of your friends, talking about homework or work or how badly that one character from your favourite show just messed up? You sip your coffee and examine your friend's face while they talk. As you do that, you take notice of their crimson-coloured lipstick. You compliment it, saying that it suits them so well. Upon hearing these words your friend however goes quiet and lowers their mug. They utter a soft thanks, as you do, but after, they tell you how they wish their lips looked more like Miss X’s; that they were bigger, rounder and that the acne spots on the right side of their mouth would be gone forever. As you listen to them go on and on about how they wish things were different, you cannot help but to wonder why they think like this. They are perfect like this you think to yourself. After a while, you decide to ask them about it and they answer: ‘If they were bigger, I would be beautiful’.

Nowadays many people tend to think like the friend in the situation I just described. They believe their imperfections make them less beautiful, and that this would change if said imperfections would disappear. People judge their face, the acne scars and wrinkles it carries. They examine their proportions and think aloud how they are not good enough. They hide their thin hair under a beanie, their dark under eyes behind layers of makeup. They wear heeled shoes to appear just a bit taller, and they choose to wear hoodies to make it seem like they are smaller. Some people might take fillers, add extensions to their hair or book an appointment to a tanning salon. Solutions may vary, but the root cause is always the same; people believe their imperfections take something crucial away from their beauty.

I like to believe the exact opposite of all this is true. I think imperfections do not destroy or break down our beauty, but instead add to it by making every single one of us more special. The scars left behind by years worth of acne and the wrinkles on our skin tell about our lives, and all the things we experienced while growing older. For example, wrinkles tell a story of just how many times we laughed with that friend at that busy coffee shop. The dark under eyes tell about how we spent a whole night studying for something we saw as important. Those stretch marks on our thighs and stomach tell about the journey of our body - perhaps even how it came to terms with something our mind had told us was wrong for an awfully long time. The proportions of our body paint a picture of our family, and of our family’s family. Our appearance is not similar to any other person’s, nor does any other person have the exact same imperfections we do. So, in the end, all our spots and marks make us more unique, more distinct from everyone else.

If I was at that busy coffee shop mentioned in the beginning of this note, I would tell the friend their acne spots do not take anything away from their lipstick; it looks good on them despite their lips being on the smaller side. I would do this because I believe no one should feel their imperfections make them less compared to someone else. We humans will always be imperfect in one way or another. Nevertheless, we all are more beautiful than we often realise. But even if you forgot this or you simply find it exceedingly difficult to believe, BTSB has you covered! This last issue of both the spring and the academic year brings you, our dear readers, a diverse issue examining all that is beautiful. We hope it helps you remind yourselves of just how wonderful you really are, and we wish you are kind to yourself during this magical season of birth and growth.

And here are the articles published in this issue alongside my Chief Editor’s Note! Robi’s piece discusses the beauty of words, while Aleksi offers us a short story about how imperfect things can also be beautiful. In her piece, Audrey writes about how beautiful growing old can really be. Annika has decided to give us two texts: one about comparing yourself to others, and one about how damaging being focused on appearances can be in the end. Sara has put together an interview with SUB’s current president Alice. Minja offers us a poem with a catch (which one of you can figure it out first?), and Bouke makes their debut with a piece about the beauty of longing. Finally, I have the pleasure to give you a short, spring inspired love poem.