Looks matter everywhere. I used to have alot of active cystic acne back in 12th grade and literally had no friends, literally no one would bother to talk with me in those days. My face cleared up whilst I prepped for CLAT (I still have some scars though) and I lost a fair bit of weight too (Didnt eat because of mental stuff) and I felt like a entire different human being when I started college. Whenever I bump into old friends they all talk about how I got a "glow-up" and whatnot and how I'm alot more extroverted now even though nothing about my personality has changed except for me losing some weight and my skin getting clearer. People LOVE to act like looks don't matter but they themselves ignore and shun people who arent attractive to them, a common way people do this is by calling them "boring", when the only thing that's boring about them is their face. This might sound bitter to some but I guess that's just anger for how I got treated in my hs days.

I would say looks play an important role in the beginning and unfortunately play an important role in making first impressions but once you start interacting and getting to know the person do you realise whether they worth your time or effort. Now the drawback in this approach is, average joes are filtered out in the first go when good lookers are in the same sample pool and by the time anyone realises that the reality of the good looking person, it's too late. Basically jo dikhta woh bikhta hai.

I am a conventionally good looking person but for whatever reasons I have been on both sides of the spectrum. I was morbidly obese a few years ago and now sport a chiseled jawline. I have seen a drastic change in human behaviour ever since I lost weight! People treat me differently as opposed to how I was viewed and perceived when I was a blob of fat.

You can work on yourself. While good looks are mostly genetic, a good body is achievable. If I can do it, anyone can! Hit the gym, a crisp wardrobe, few accessories, good hygiene, sharp haircut etc and good posture - it won't be long before you leave the good looking folks behind ;)

It is simple. Nothing lasts. Neither intelligence nor beauty. Everyone, and I mean everyone, gets humiliated, gets broken at least once in their lives. The wisest of all the people you have ever known has been made to crawl (metaphorically, at least) and the most prepossessing among all those whom you have seen has been degraded (again, metaphorically, at the very least).

My advice: recognise this moment. Remember what was done to you and ask yourself whether you would like to do the same to someone else. There is no right or wrong answer to this. Just be honest with yourself. The answer you get will clarify the difference between what you can and what you must do going forward in your life.

Above all, do not try to “move on” for there is no such thing. Don’t ignore the moment. Do realise who you are and whether you can really be someone else.

Most of looks is about attention to detail. Not so much expensive clothes as do you think about what you put in and on your body, and do you think about basic exercise, skin care etc. Obviously that is not a substitute for intelligence and kindness which are better than looks any day. But some people give off this unkept self-hating vibe which gets worse as other people are mean to them. It's just not attractive. Maybe think a bit about why people would talk to you. Why do you want to talk to them? It's if they brighten your day a bit. Or you learn something. Or they feel comforting.

i mean sure you must have to talk to everybody in the firm regardless of how they look but do you have more fun talking to good-looking people? do u release more dopamine when interacting with the latter? recently saw a group of friends take a picture, and then once the first pic was done, the good looking lads and ladies took another picture in the same pose (because, let's not kid ourselves, only the second pic was instagrammable and not the first one). guess what, i was part of the first pic and not the second. feeling very sad since then