You take a step out of your room and into the hallway, and you hear the girls that just passed you laughing. You wonder, were they laughing at me? Is my hair or makeup messed up? Did they call me fat? Do my clothes not match? For the next hour, you sit in your bed trying to figure out what they were judging you for and how you can fix it. Dying your hair, going to the gym, eating healthier, getting better clothes are all ways to stop the judging, or at least that's what you think.
If you are a person who is already really hard on yourself with low self-esteem, it makes the feeling of constantly being judged 10 times worse. The girls that walked down the hall earlier might not have even been laughing at you, but you have such low self-esteem that you think they were. You tell yourself that you are fat, ugly, your clothes don't match, and whatever lie your brain makes up about you.
When you walk to class, you just keep your head down to avoid seeing the girls who your mind tells you are prettier than you. They have all the name brands, and they can pull off every style out there, whereas you are in your old tennis shoes, faded jeans and baggy t-shirt from high school. You try to look cute at least once a week, but by lunch you are changing because you feel like everyone is judging you for looking nice for once.
But then sometimes you have those really good days where you feel as skinny as a string bean and confident as can be. They only happen once in a blue moon, but when they do you are having a great day. On the flip side, nothing can break your low self-esteem on a bad day, not even a simple "hey beautiful" from your crush. And those are your worst days.
It is quite sad how we let our minds trick us into thinking we are not good enough. We also let the media trick us into thinking that if you are not a certain size, you are not beautiful. I know it is hard to bring that self-esteem up and feel less judged. But that's why we need to help each other, as women, to feel beautiful. Instead of gossiping about each other and bringing each other down, let's lift each other up and compliment each other. It is hard enough getting cat called from the opposite sex, so why bring the same sex down too?
So ladies, ignore what the media has to say about the "perfect body." Lift each other up, and remember you are beautifully made by God.
