As I came to understand it, beauty in Poland was both a currency and a commodity, and that belief was reinforced pretty much on the daily, in subtle and more hidden ways. It was easier to deal with coming from the Polish women and girls outside the confines of home, because they could be waved away with the excuse that this is just how they were – and as I learned the older I got – not everyone had to be your friend, no matter how seemingly glamorous they were or appeared to be.