I cannot remember the last time I have gone a whole day without hearing a friend complain about their weight or the way they look. Walking to class, going to lunch, it always comes up. Whether someone is snap chatting and verbally degrading their face, or acting self-consciously while eating and poking at their thighs, girls never fail to put themselves down. I'm sure that somewhere there are girls who love their bodies and never feel self-conscious, although, I've yet to meet them.
Just last week, I was in my sorority meeting and we were instructed to split up into groups to meet each other and do icebreakers. As we went around answering the questions provided, every single girl, myself included, looked bewildered and had to take a longer time to answer the question regarding what we love about ourselves. After thinking about what could have been years, I said that I loved that I chose to go to Temple University.
Sure, that is a relatively good choice I have made, but what it really was, was an answer diverting from having to actually look at myself for who I am, and choosing one of my many fabulous qualities. Sadly, in the moment I was unable to think of anything I liked about myself, and that remained a common theme throughout the answers the other girls provided.
I was shocked to find that all of these confident and gorgeous girls I had been speaking to, felt the same way about themselves that I do. It's difficult to live in today's society and not feel some sort of pressure to morph into the current standard of beauty. Even though we all have great qualities, it's hard to see them past insecurities and things we dislike about ourselves.
The media bombards everyone, boys and girls, telling us what is in and what is out. When the beauty standard is constantly changing, it's hard for people to keep up and feel confident in the way they are presenting themselves in the world, especially if they view themselves as what is out.
One of the biggest problems I see are the tabloids and social media outlets shaming celebrities for a single flaw even though millions of young peoples view them as perfection. Seeing body shaming toward people you want to be, only emphasizes that even if you manage to look like them, the rest of the world can still pick on you and put you down.
An article on The Guardian Online says that within "ages 14 to 16, 51% of girls are unhappy with their appearance". I hope people can be more open with these insecurities and work as a society to help young people in establishing their self-esteem during critical years of their life.
Don't forget to keep your head up and slay as your fabulous selves!
