How to love yourself in modern society

Statistics show that 54 percent of women and 33 percent of men ages 18 - 40 are unhappy with the way their bodies look, but everyone has their own beautiful features. A body is a beautiful thing, no matter the shape, size, or color. Eyes of any variety are always deep enough for a loved one to find themselves lost. Beauty has been misshapen by the staples of society, causing percentages of detestful body views to continue to climb.

With the invention of social media, the outpouring of “selfies”, and the judgemental views of an ever changing society, the definition of an alluring body has been horribly mangled over the past few decades. Never has the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” been so twisted. Over the years, bodies have become unhealthily slim, when once, not long ago, a girl with a slight bit of weight was considered attractive.

Since the 1920’s, era of the Flappers, the social understanding of the “perfect body” has gotten smaller and smaller, minimalized clothing hugging the frame of a woman’s emaciated body. It is estimated that 1.0% to 4.2% of women suffer or have suffered from anorexia, an eating disorder of refusing to consume calories, in their lifetime. All of this to strive for a “perfect body”, which is grotesquely in ill health.

“Society says one thing while others should be following their heart and being themselves,” says Shianne P., a freshman at Airport High School.

“Self love is about so much more than being confident about your body,” said a former student of Mrs. Vicki Stillwell, the Airport Theatre instructor. “It’s waking up in the morning and smiling at the fact that you’re alive. It’s hydrating your body throughout the day. It’s sitting with yourself and feeling at peace. It’s knowing you aren’t perfect and fully accepting that. It’s being okay with the parts of yourself that you’ve yet to discover, and letting go of the parts that you don’t need. It’s loving your body, but also knowing that you need to take care of it. It’s being honest with yourself when you need help. It’s changing yourself for the better and never settling for the person you are now.”

Day after day, people feel as though they aren’t good enough, that they aren’t pretty enough, that they aren’t worthy. You are worthy. With every decade comes a new trend, so don’t follow them. Be a trendsetter. Be yourself. Love who you are, and don’t change it for others.

Ladies, stop being so heavily dependent on painting your face. Embrace yourself for who you are. Guys, quit worrying about what women think. You’re all handsome. There’s no such thing as “ugly” unless you make it so. Most of all, remember that people who think they can put you down don’t matter, and people who bring you up care.