NEDA Week 2015 - Media Matters

My favorite show growing up was a Disney piece called Kids, Incorporated.  I wanted to be like one of the characters, Renee, as she had hair similar to mine. 

Even as an eight year old, I knew I wasn't pretty.  I wanted to be pretty like Renee.  As the show continued, and Renee grew, I watched her get heavier, and decided I no longer wanted to be like her.  I was probably ten when I recognized that her weight gain was not a good thing.  Didn't matter that in "real life" she was probably hitting puberty, and her body was naturally doing what bodies do.  But to me, she was getting fat.  And I was not going to let my body do that.

Now days, kids are exposed to SO much more media than I was.  I mean, I pretty much watched Kids, Inc, and maybe a few shows on Nickelodeon, but that was it.  I never read teen magazine, I preferred Disney magazine.  I just wasn't exposed to what kids are today.  For that, I consider myself lucky.

As an older teen, I was (and truthfully, continue to be) easily influenced by media.  I remember spending many Friday nights walking around the mall with my BFF at the time.  She loved looking at all the clothes in the store windows.  I loved looking at all the people and deciding if I wanted to be like them or not.  I was twelve.

I had already spent years as a chameleon - I could like whatever the person I was with at the time liked.  This was one more step into the distorted body image challenge that continues to follow me around as an adult.

While I still struggle with food and eating and body image in general, as a teacher, I make certain that my words remain neutral, positive, and encouraging to my students in all areas.  They need to know that who they are right this second is just right.  It doesn't matter what their favorite actor or singer looks like or does.  Their little bodies are exactly as they should be, and just like their job right now is school, their other job is to feed their body healthy stuff, and stay active.  I just hope they remember this when the media becomes their main teacher.

No. More. Negative. News.

With so much happening in the world these days, the "news" (and I use that term lightly) has been extremely loaded.  So loaded, in fact, that I have not once regretted my decision to stop watching the news, and stop reading the papers.  It probably sounds like I live with my head buried in the sand, but believe me, I hear news I need to hear, and even more frequently, I hear news I never wanted to hear.

For example, why do I need to be bogged down by so many political commercials right now?  The news reporters talk about it enough, so why ruin the few TV shows that I watch by filling the commercials with political propaganda?

Moreso than that, why, why, WHY does the media need to sensationalize all the negative news out there?  Do they think it helps?  From what I've read recently (and in light of yet another deadly school shooting this week) there's been a total of 87 school shootings since Newton, Connecticut.  How scary is that?!?  I have a bit of advice for those looking for your 15 minutes of fame - DON'T SHOOT.  There are other ways to get your moment on the camera, despite what the media makes it look like.  The media seems to show that the only way to become news is to do something extremely dangerous, often potentially endangering others' lives.

I don't buy it.

Try doing something nice, instead.  I mean, I much prefer to spend my time that used to be spent watching the news or reading the paper reading a book, looking things up online (lately my time has been committed to KickStarter and Pinterest,) playing games, or doing the much neglected things around my house that I've needed to do.  Putting positive, or at least neutral energy out there feels a lot better to me than adding any more negativity.....

And I beg, beg, BEG of you news people, can we PLEASE stop focusing on the negative, and find some time for the Smile Stories?  Might make the world feel a little brighter, and a little less scary.

Rant over.

NEDA Week: Celebrity

I'm a HUGE fan of the Hunger Games.  No, not literally starving myself to be hungry, the book series by Suzanne Collins.  Through the series, and the movies, I've also become a fan of Jennifer Lawrence.  Here are a few reasons why:

Read more about Jennifer Lawrence and her thoughts on body stuff:

In Hollywood I'm Obese
It's Dumb to be Hungry to Make Others Happy
It Should be Illegal to Call Someone Fat

NEDA Week: The Media

There are some crazy facts about how the media has become such a powerful influence on us, myself included.  I actually don't watch the news anymore because it is too disturbing to me.  There aren't enough "smile stories" shared.

I also know how much I push myself because I don't look like those I see on television, I'm too different.  I don't like what I do to myself. I don't like how I let the media's decisions on what is "pretty" or "beautiful" impact my own choices.

Yet, I'm the only one with the power to change my mind.

I'm working on it.

Are you?

Challenge 7, Part 2: Beauty

I love this quote, because it so succinctly speaks the truth: we've as a society have given so much power to the media, that we're not comfortable with what we see in the mirror unless it's what the media portrays.  At least, I know I'm not.  I loathe the skin I'm in for all of the pain it's caused me.  I'm working on improving my self image, and one day hope I can use the word beautiful when referring to myself.

It's one thing to have outer beauty, but to have that inner beauty is where I think the true comfort comes from.  I know that we all look around and judge others on their appearances, but we don't know their story, we don't know what they've been through, and they might be just as self conscious as we are, they might not like the person under the make up and clothing, either.  Inner beauty?  Comfortable in your own skin?  Definitely still my goal.