I was just thinking about cosmetic surgery the other night, then I read this week's Ladies of Hive question,

If money is not an issue, would you consider having cosmetic surgery to enhance your appearance? Which part of your body would you want altered?

It felt like fate, so I decided to share a few thoughts.

I found the phrasing both depressing and interesting, as it reveals a stark truth about so many of us ladies - the main barrier that keeps us from getting this kind of surgery is not integrity, confidence or self-love, but good old cashola. Or lack thereof.

I worked briefly writing content for a cosmetic surgery center, and while I don't remember where they were based, I do recall the procedures were tremendously expensive. And only the very best will do, I should imagine. I certainly wouldn't want to skimp on stuff they'd be shoving under my skin forever, you know?

I've always thought cosmetic surgery is a bit deceptive, not towards others, but to the patient. This notion that it might enhance your appearance seems wrong to me. It supposes there is a golden standard of beauty and that enlarging your breasts or your lips or whatever gets you a couple steps closer to that golden standard. Except the standard doesn't exist, so all surgery could hope to do is bring you closer, perhaps, to your own idea of beauty.

Which is also a deceptive thought. 95% of the time, people who pinpoint these surface-level problems as the cause of their unhappiness in life don't magically get a boost in confidence and satisfaction post-surgery. Rather, they find some other issue with themselves.

Because in truth, that's the issue. That they've somehow come to think they're defective. And obviously, rather than dig down in the scary, dark well that's the human psyche, we fixate on these surface things like appearance. Because they seem obvious. Easy.

It seems to me cosmetic surgery is treating a very small symptom, without even acknowledging the real illness.

I can't speak for men, but this is a common mentality among women, so much so that there's plenty of memes and little jokes online about it -- whenever we go through a rough patch, bad break-up, hard day at work, etc, many of us will start digging into our appearance.

It's how they invented that oh-so-cliche moment in films where the heroine, at her wits' end, takes a pair of kitchen scissors and chops off her hair. Whether it's a haircut, dye job, new bag, or complete wardrobe do-over, it's very easy to trick ourselves into thinking that if only we looked a little different, our unhappiness would cease.

And in some cases, it does work. It cheers us up temporarily, it empowers us, and often, that's just the sort of little boost we need to get over a bad day or romantic disappointment.

However, there's quite a road from dyeing your hair to "get happy" and getting a boob job.

The idea that any elective surgery could improve your life and boost your self-confidence is terrifying to me. And so far, none of the women I've encountered who'd undergone cosmetic surgery seemed truly happy, confident, or at ease. How could they be, when they've tied their happiness and source of self-confidence to something so vapid?

Which isn't to say there aren't some women who do thrive and benefit from getting cosmetic surgery. I imagine there are some (few) women who undergo it, and by getting a whatever job, fix a perceived problem, and see a marked improvement in their life. Though they, presumably, also work on their confidence and overall satisfaction from other angles.

But beyond the confidence concerns (and obviously, the health-related issues), cosmetic surgery just doesn't seem appealing to me. Most "augmented" breasts seem balloony (and feel unnatural, from what I've heard). And I'm sure the highest-paid top surgeon does a pretty decent life-like job, I'd rather keep my real small breasts, thank you.

Lips, I'm sure you've noticed, have become very popular. Everyone from the supermarket cashier to red carpet celebs seem to be getting their "lips done" which is just such a horrible, off-putting look to me. And, having heard enough men talking about that kind of look, it's not something I want to be parading around with.

But then, what do I know? I'm 25. Maybe my ideas will change as my body "disappoints me". I doubt it, though. See, I think there's something tremendously graceful and beautiful about aging. I read this fascinating article in some paper earlier this week about how menopause has been transformed into this horrendous illness, an ailment to be cured at all cost, not accepted as natural. Also about how that's affecting and shaming women everywhere.

The same seems true to me about cosmetic surgery. It's not natural to seek and reverse the hands of time. It's no use trying to look, still, like a 20-year-old, and it seems to me, the more you try, the uglier it makes you. Because it screams you're ill at ease in your own body, in the place you are at in your life. And what could be less attractive than that?!

I know Hive account@deirdyweirdy recently wrote about this, and as she rightly pointed out, so many of these "enhancements" can be worked towards in a natural manner. You can exercise, train your body, watch what you eat and what you put on yourself -- those things alone already make a tremendous difference in terms of skin and body image. As for the rest, I'm sorry, but stuffing tiny pillows into your boobs, cheeks or lips isn't going to stop the aging, and eventually the death process. Inf act, in many sad cases, it speeds it along.

So definitely no cosmetic surgery for me, Ladies. If money were no object, I'd travel the world. Feed my soul. Broaden my understanding of this planet we temporarily get to call home. Boost my self-confidence. And so far, I ain't found a more sure-fire recipe for looking (and feeling) ace. :)

What about you? Would you get "enhanced"?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!