Self-esteem

As a teenage girl, I’m pretty self-conscious about my appearance, especially when I’m around other teenage girls who I feel, look better than I do. I know I’m not the only girl in America who feels this way either.  According to Oprah.com, 76.2% of teen-agers are self-conscious or dissatisfied with their appearance. Over 70% of 15 to 17 year old girls avoid going to school or other public places when they are worried about their looks. And according to dosomething.org an astounding 75% of these girls have engaged in negative activities such as self-harm, bullying, disordered eating, or abuse alcohol and drugs.

Young women feel they have to be perfect because that’s what society says; you have to wear a certain brand of clothing and wear your hair and make-up a certain way and you have to be so tall and you have to have the right amount of skin showing off and you have to have a certain facial structure, the list is never ending. Some girls believe that they have to be what society tells them to be.

Through all of this crap society tells us to be we get lost in what we should be and not in what we want to be; we lose our own self-worth and aren’t even catering to our own needs anymore, society has made us mind-less, soul-less clones. We forget that we are part of society and that we do in fact have a voice. We get so lost in society’s standard of beauty that we forget who we are, you’ve forgotten who you are. That’s a really scary thought, to know that you have no idea who you even are anymore.

It’s so sad that we don’t even realize what we’re doing to ourselves, or what we’re doing to our families, or our society. By obeying the standards of beauty society has set for us we’re just feeding the fire. It’s even sadder to think that we’re afraid to be who we are, but in all honesty we are afraid, I’m afraid.

Self-confidence isn’t about going with the flow, it’s about stepping out and being your own person, even if you’re scared. It’s about loving who you are, not what society wants you to be. Yeah, it’s hard, you don’t want to be judged and ridiculed, but isn’t it worth it if you know who you are? If you’re just going with the flow and not catering your own personal needs you’re just judging and ridiculing yourself. Now think, really think, who are you? Be who you want to be and not who you’re told to be.

Pain

In some way or another, we’ve all been in pain, whether it be physical or emotional, pain is pain. Yet for some reason, people still debate over which is worse. I agree that there is a difference between physical and emotional pain. But that doesn’t at all mean that one is more severe than the other. Honestly it just depends on the circumstance and the circumstance can vary greatly.

Physical pain is easier to see and there for, easier to understand. For example if someone broke their leg, you would have sympathy for them because you’ve probably broken a bone before, and even if you haven’t, you can still comprehend the amount of pain they must be in. over time this pain goes away, sometimes it takes a while but it does go away and you go back to feeling like brand new. You can go right back to your sport or job with little to no hesitation at all, and that’s good! Everything goes back to the way it was, and you get to go right back to what you love to do. It’s simple.

Emotional pain is very different from physical pain, a heart break is nothing compared to a broken bone, but sometimes that heart break can last longer than a cast on your arm or leg; sometimes that heart break turns into depression. But that topic is for a later date. Emotional pain is always in the same places, your heart, and for some people it doesn’t take a lot to make their heart break. Not everyone can understand the emotional pain you’re in because everybody can handle different amounts of pain, to you it may look like a little scratch but to them it could be a broken bone you know? You just can’t tell how much it actually hurts that person, and even if you could tell what would you say to them? It’s so hard to fell sympathetic towards people who are feeling this emotional pain inside because you can’t see it.

I fell there are some similarities between the two though. Like you can still go to school and work with physical and emotional pain, it might be difficult but it can be done. Another similarity is death, although it’s unlikely for you to die from emotional pain, you can end up dying. I know that’s a scary thought, but it’s the unfortunate truth. Believe what you will about physical and emotional pain and believe what you will about death.