Beautiful People Rule the World?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/14/heidi-montags-10-plastic_n_423855.html
I know this is old news in the world of celebritydom, but I came across Heidi Montag's controversial plastic surgery overkill while deciding to take a break from reading Weber.
Ok, honestly, she looked perfectly fine before the liposuction, Botox injections, lifts, and augmentations. It's ridiculous. The more images I saw of her on Google, the stupider I thought this girl was. She's spent thousands of dollars, suffered avoidable pain, gone beyond recognizability. If I was her mom, I would cry. "Why don't I recognize my beautiful daughter anymore?" And has it done much for her physical appearance? The answer to me, at least, is no. If I saw both Heidi's on the street, I would think the same thing: that's an attractive blonde. I certainly hope it's done something for her immense insecurity, because that's where this entire mess seems to stem from. I also heard a segment on NPR recently about how more attractive people have better chances of moving up the career ladder and being promoted in the workplace. I was going to try to find the piece, but got too lazy. Point of the story was, if you are physically attractive the potential to get far in your career is there over someone who is "average."
It just made me realize how shallow of a society we've become. Especially when you live in LA, you only have a few seconds most of the time to impress the opposite sex. How do you distinguish yourself from the hottie next to you to a guy you're interested in? By out-primping, out-pinching, out-exercising, out-plumping, out-beautifying over other girls. Maybe there is this 'race to the top' to see who can be the most beautiful, earn the most admirers, and swoon the most people. I'm really talking from a female's perspective. This might apply to guys too but I think males get a lot more leeway when it comes to points on physical appearance. I can't deny that I'm guilty of the same crime. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I look to the opposite sex, about what parts of my physical appearance needs work, about what outfits flatter my figure and what doesn't. I'm surrounded by beautiful people--at school, at clubs, at the gym--it can really make you think about whether you're up to par with people's standards of beauty. There are days when I feel like I can conquer the world, days where I feel super confident about myself. Then there are days when my self esteem droops and I just feel like an ugly duckling. Those are the days when I think about what's wrong with myself physically. I know, it's sad. I know, I shouldn't be thinking about these things. But I can't pretend that I don't have insecurities, like 99.9% of the people on this planet.
Here's a thought, and Dr. Seuss couldn't have said it better.
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Why does it matter what other people think outside of the ones you care about? It's unquantifiable, but I don't want to look back and think, wow, why did I spend all that time trying to impress a person who doesn't remotely matter to or care about me? I guess one could argue it's human nature to want a plethora of admirers and envious people, but human nature can also be cannibalism and bestiality.
And I've come to realize something else among all this--that the times where I feel most beautiful is when I feel good about myself inside. Maybe that's the more important thing I need to work on--confidence that will stay with me after my face and figure start to sag. What a horrible thought, actually. BUT, next time when I think about whether a dress looks good on me and what other people might think of it, maybe I should spend that energy thinking about how I can better myself as a person. I think for most people the key to outer beauty is to channel the beauty you feel from within. Let that radiate, and people will naturally see and feel it. I hardly think that requires a nose or boob job as a prerequisite.