Young girls, especially in high school, should just worry about getting good grades in school and be the best that they can be. They should just have fun and have a great time while being in school. They should do their best to concentrate solely on their studies, and take advantage of the fact that they can go to school full time and not worry about getting a full time job. Because if not, when they get older, get married and have kids, it will be so hard for them to go back to school and do the other responsibilities of an adult life. They should not worry about boys, their physical appearance, brand named stuff, or about their divorced or separated parents.
When I was in high school, most of my classmates' parents were still together. Unlike my parents, they got separated when I was about three years old. Living in a country where most people are old fashioned Catholics, who do not believe in separation or divorce, I felt like an outsider. I felt so embarrassed that my parents were separated. I remember one time, when a boyfriend invited me to a celebration at his parents’ house. He introduced me to his parents. Somehow, our conversation became about my parents being divorced. Then suddenly, his parents whispered to him, and then he pulled me to the side and asked me if I am ready to go home. I found out that his parents did not want him to hang-out with me because; they said that I will end-up being separated or divorced also like my parents. That hurt my feelings, that I allowed that to affect my whole life. When our parents are divorced or separated, it is a very unfortunate thing to happen in our lives. I would like to advice young girls to, as much as they can, avoid being affected by their parents being divorced. Instead, girls should think about getting good grades, to have a great job someday, and dream of having a great family of their own one day. All of us are different, if our parents were divorced, it doesn’t mean that we are also going to be divorced when we get married. I know that it can happen to anybody, but we just have to live our life to the fullest everyday. I know that this is very easy to say, but very hard to do. We always have to think positive in all of the situations that happen in our lives, because if we do not think positive, it will never do us any good to be so sad about it. It will never do us any good if we punish ourselves by not taking care of ourselves.
One of the best articles that I found online, about teens dealing with divorced parents is from this website,
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/Parents/divorce.html#. I would like to encourage any teens, especially young girls, to read the article in this website for some great advice. In this article, it talks about that, it is common for a teen to feel angry, frustrated, upset or sad when their parents are divorced. Teens can sometimes feel like, it is their fault that their parents got divorced, and of course, it is always not the truth. It states that, these feelings are normal, and that one of the best ways to deal with these feelings is talking about the situation with a friend, a family member, or a trusted adult that can really help. Your whole life will change, but you just have to live your life to the fullest. Stay focused on your own plans and dreams. Keep participating in many activities in school as you can. Make friends. Another one of my favorite suggestions from this article is telling young teens to take care of themselves by eating right and getting regular exercise, which are two things that can help us deal with a lot of stress in life.
Another thing that affected me so much was being so insecure of my physical appearance. I got so conscious of my body and the way I look. Now that I am older, I regret it a lot, that when I was in high school, I thought of my physical appearance too much. It affected my studies, and it affected my social life. In high school, I met a lot of girls my age who were so mean to me. They laughed behind my back, because I have big muscles on my legs that they look like men's legs. I was also so embarrassed for not having big breasts like other girls my age. I became very shy and ended-up not going out that much. Although I have a lot of boys who were interested in me, I still felt so insecure. Now, that I am older, I realized that physical appearance is not that important. As long as anyone looks decent, clean and respectable, that is all that matters. I would like to send this message to all young girls, do not worry too much about how you look now, because it will not matter when you grow-up. The most important thing is that you are and look happy, confident and you have a very good heart. This way, you can find true friends, who will be with you and for you, even during tough times.
I found this very interesting report about how important the physical appearance for young girls. Please check the report on this link:
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/binary-data/WSF_ARTICLE/pdf_file/990.pdf. This report was made by The Women’s Sports Foundation, entitled “Her Life Depends on It: Sport, Physical Activity and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls”. The whole report is very interesting, but on page 25, it talks about body image by young girls. It talks about that girls, even at a very young age are brainwashed by what the media portray as a beautiful woman. That beauty and the importance of one’s physical appearance are some of the most published by the media. That physical perfection is always defined as “thin”. Once again, exercise is advised from this report as one of the best solutions for body image problems. The report mentions that exercise can be used to promote self-confidence and enhance physical and mental health.
Young girls should also not worry about boys. I would like to let them know, that they have a lot of time ahead of them to meet somebody who is so special to love and respect them unconditionally. I fell in love very seriously when I was in high school, that it also affected my studies. I thought that he was the one. I thought that he was my soul mate. That, when I broke-up from that boy, I felt like it was the end of the world. I did not know that I was very young, and that love in high school most of the time will not last for a long time. I did not know that falling in love and out of love was normal and happens all the time to anyone, especially in high school. I would like to let every young girls know that boys are not worth giving your time and attention, especially at a very early age in your life. You will still meet other people, and find that perfect person for you to live the rest of your life and have a family with.
The last message that I would like to send to any high school students, especially young girls, of course, do not worry too much about brand-named stuff. I know that there is a lot of peer pressure in high school about owning expensive clothes, shoes or anything with brand names. It is also not worth giving any attention or any of your time. In high school, most of the time, you are what they call it, "cool", when you own anything with brand name in it and things that are very expensive. I was so jealous of my classmates with parents who had the money to buy them all the things that they want, and all the things that were expensive. I used to blame my dad for the reason why my mom was not able to afford to buy me expensive or popular brand-named stuff. We need to be responsible in our own actions. Instead of worrying about not having expensive things, young girls should do their best to have good grades that someday, hopefully, will help them land a great job that makes good money and hopefully buy the things that they want in life.
Overall, I wish I can turn the clock back, and I would have done a lot of things differently. I would be more understanding and not worry about a lot of things about me. I would have just had a great time living my high school days. I would have concentrated more on my studies, that it would have helped me at this point of time in my life, personally and professionally. Nevertheless, I am and will still do my best to fulfill my dream, and to do the things that I was not able to do when I was in high school. I hope that through my own experiences that I am able to send my point and message to all young girls out there. Just have fun, be happy, don’t sweat the small stuff, take care of yourselves, and be the best that you can be.
Comments
I completly agree with
I completly agree with the fact that many girls give in to peer pressure. They also try to look like the girls in magazines. Since i'm going into graphic design I know that most of the models are airbrushed and really don;t even look like they do in the pictures.
As a young girl I was somewhat chunky not fat but chunky. I would always think that people were looking at me and calling me fat even if they werent. I started to go on a crash diet not realizing how unhealthy it was and how harmful to my body it was. I lost about 30 pounds in a month. I sought out help after a while because I knew what I was doing was wrong.
As a person who has overcome many struggles with self confidence and acceppting who I am as a person I strongly agree that all girls should just be happy for who they are. Everyone is beautiful in their own unique way. Also the people that make fun of other girls for not wearing in styles and other things like that are often very unhappy with themselves and bully others to make themselves feel better.
Thank you for writing. I look foward to seeing what you write next.
I agree with your post
I agree with your post "Girls Have Fun And Be The Best That You Can Be!" because you tell your story and many girls can relate to your story. Also its true that many girls get into peer pressure and ruin their lives.
One quote that stood out for me is " if our parents were divorced, it doesn’t mean that we are also going to be divorced when we get married." I think this misconception is going away now and people are more open minded about divorce.
I do agree with you that girls shouldn't get into peer pressure and they should focus more in school and their grades. But also in school there will be problems and they will effect a person. I think its more about how we can deal with all our problems.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next.
Dear annac, I loved your
Dear annac,
I loved your post, "GIRLS, HAVE FUN AND BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE!" because its so true how girls go through so many problems and issue with the way they look just because of the sole fact of the media's perfect girl. Most of the girls that are in those magazines dont even look like that.
There was actually an issue with a former Ralph Lauren model that got fired because she was not skinny enough. At a SIZE 4, she was not skinny enough. If I recall they also tampered with an editorial she did and made her look like she was in a concentration camp for most her life. Her bones were protruding and she looked unhealthy.
Personally I get how designers want such skinny models because I want to be a fashion designer. Skinnier models use less fabric and fabric is extremely expensive. Although when I do become a fashion designer I dont want to use girls that are too skinny. The things these girls do to stay skinny are outrageous as well. Why do you think so many models SMOKE?The image of a perfect model is one that comfortable in her own skin.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because I enjoyed the topic you chose to write about and the issues you chose to adress. Thank you.
Anna, thank you for taking
Anna, thank you for taking your time to write your post. Your post was very well written. I really liked the examples that you've included into your post. I couldn't have agreed with you more. These days, teenagers in school worry too much about their appearance and how they should change themselves in order to impress their crushes. This highly distracts them from their school work, causing them to recieve bad grades. Our society now is so laid back it's crazy. With Technology rising, students are able to learn and search the web for information. Back then, people had a hard time to learn. Some, who didn't have the money to attend school, would stay home and work for their families. Throughout history, our society has worked so hard to make education achievable and possible for everyone. Funny thing is, now that is, students are throwing them away, worrying about things that won't help them in the future.
I know that highschool is exciting and exhilerating at the same time, but it is important to keep your grades and get into a good college. It is possible to have fun and do good in school at the same time, you just have to work at it a little harder.
Thanks again for writing such a well written post. I couldn't have agreed with you more.