"Pity Party" by Haley Wildhirt is a touching narrative about how society's standards personally affected her. Even though she herself did not think that she was up to par with society's image of a perfect person, she believed her best friend, Linlee, to be flawless. She was astonished to find out that even Linlee was self-conscious. Haley then created a way to for them to feel better about themselves. This piece really opened my eyes to the terrible standards that the mainstream media had set up for people, especially females. I absolutely loved how the author made up her own solution to boost her and her best friend's self-esteem.

     One of my favorite lines of the piece reads, "My enemy, the media, is unrelenting. Through endless magazine ads, movies, and TV commercials, it has been pounded into my skull that I am not pretty enough or thin enough to meet society's standards." This part is very relatable because I am sure that plenty of others have felt victimized by social media and its ridiculously high expectations. The thing that makes "Pity Party" a worthwhile read is that it provides a way to feel better about your own features. It is not just a piece that is calling out the unfair media exposing people to impossible standards, but one that tries to fix it.