But today, I want to talk about something a little more serious.
As I hope most of you know, I'm competing in the Miss Orem Scholarship Pageant at the end of April, and as such, I've had a lot to do. The most important and time consuming portion of this process has been the development of my platform. At first it was really hard for me to come up with something because I had so many ideas and wanted to do so much. It was hard up until the loss of Sidney Bruning. I can't say that I know why she chose to end her life, but I hope it had nothing to do with what I ended up choosing for my platform. It is called Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Taken. I have seen so many girls and boys take their lives, or develop eating disorders etc. because of low self-esteem. In doing some research for my platform and trying to understand some of what drives young people to change themselves so extremely I narrowed it down to one thing: the word "beauty."
Beautiful—this word alone has the power to create
confidence in any young woman, while the lack of this same word in a girl’s
description of herself indicates a shattered self worth. Society’s ever
changing definition of “beauty” has driven many girls to change themselves,
often endangering their mental and physical health. What are the causes of low
self esteem in girls? There are many things, but frightening statistics state
that much of it has to do with a girl’s social setting in school and at home.
An alarming 57% of girls report having a mother who criticizes their looks,
making it difficult to feel confident and happy at school and work.
Each of us struggles with self esteem and confidence
at some point in our lives, and it is in this critical moment of self-doubt
that many choices—both good and bad—are made. There are sadly very few women (11%)
in the world that can comfortably use the word “beautiful” to describe
themselves. Self esteem and self image are tightly tied to happiness and
confidence. 72% of girls feel very high pressure to be physically beautiful,
and as such, will do whatever it takes to become that image of beauty that the
media promotes. So often girls feel as if they need to change themselves to
achieve this ideal “beauty” and because of their need to change, they lose
themselves amongst the makeup and clothing and diets.
With this information I decided I needed to make a change. Each day I have made a goal to compliment at least ten people if not more throughout the day. Now I know that ten seems like a small number and it is, but sometimes I forget to do this. Anyway, the number isn't really the important part of this challenge I have given myself. The point is to make sure that everyone feels beautiful and confident. In the past when someone has complimented me, I feel invincible. Just yesterday while I was shopping several people told me that they loved my outfit, and an elderly woman told me I was stunning. There's nothing like the happiness and confidence that comes from the compliments of a complete stranger. So, I make sure to take the time and genuinely compliment people that I come across no matter where I am.
Doing this has made me a happier person all around. I've noticed that my attitude during the day has become so much better, and I'm able to smile longer, and the best part is that it's not fake! I know that change starts with one person, and I would hope that those I complimented not only feel great throughout the day, but take that compliment as an initiative to compliment another person.
So my dear readers, take this challenge and apply it to yourself. You'll find that it's not only easier to see the beauty in everyone, but you can see the beauty in yourself. And remember, "There is inner beauty about a girl who believes in herself, who knows she is capable of anything she puts her mind to. There is beauty in the strength and determination of a girl who follows her own path, who isn't thrown off by any onbstacles along the way. There is inner beauty about a girl whose confidence comes from experiences, who knows she can fall, pick herself back up again, and carry on."
