Why girls focus on beauty

Have you ever wondered why a great majority of girls focus on outward beauty? I always have. As a girl, ive been surronded by other girls who are constantly worrying about being the prettiest and thinest they can be. Ive watched girls starve themselves, force themselves to throw up, and beat themselves down because they are trying to be "pretty." I am curently doing a research project on early sexualization of young girls, and I am alarmed by what I see. Its exactly what I continue to see in teenage girls and young women. Media influence is definatly at the top. We are bomnarded by different things be it tv shows, music, movies, or advertisments that provide a definition of beauty that is almost not capable for the average women to achieve. Somehow beauty has become being so thin you can count your ribs, eating nothing, fearing calories, wearing pounds of make up, and dressing in the skimpiest and most revealing way possible. Im greatly inspired by women like Marilyn Monroe. She is proof that beauty is far more than the number of inches in your waste.

Being skinny doesnt make you beautiful, being you makes you beautiful.

And being beautiful most ceartinly isnt described byu how many boys you can get. Your a lady, not a booty call! Youll find a guy worth your time.

And remeber, you dont have to fit a mold. Society makes those molds up and they are ugly, crude, and typically unacheiveable.

So hold your head high. You are beautiful <3

You mean I can stay healthy in college?

So lately Ive had people ask how it is that I stay a healthy (even dropping 15lbs since starting college 9 months ago) and such in college. Part of it is that I live at home and have access to healthier foods but there is more to it. I made this as resident student friendly as possible!

1. Get out of bed every morning. Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy, but you can overdo it.
2. Wash your towels and sheets regularly – particularly if you have been unwell. These are great hide-out places for bacteria.
3. Housework is good exercise – clean your room! If you are particularly unfit, clean somebody else’s too!
4. Stay clear of friends who are sick. Does that sound a bit mean? Show them how much you care with a germ-free telephone call. (This isnt easy for me but its important!)
5. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many studies have found a relationship between eating breakfast and learning ability, attention span, and general well-being. (That means you have to get up before its considered lunch).  The American Dietetic Association reports that adults who eat breakfast have an easier time losing weight, think faster, clearer, solve problems more easily, and are less likely to be irritable.
6. Pack a healthy snack to take with you. If you skip meals you may have trouble concentrating, get headaches, or just lose your focus. Food is brain fuel.
7.  Don’t forget to pack plenty of water. Staying fully hydrated is important for a healthy complexion and healthy internal organs. Water is clever stuff. It fills your stomach and tells your brain that you are not hungry. You should drink 8-10 glasses of water each day.
8. Walk to class. Walking is free, keeps you active and means you won’t get stressed from sitting in that annoying traffic. (It especially helps if your like me and cant make it to the gym everyday!)
9.  Learn how to take breaks. Your time at college will be more enjoyable if you give yourself time out and a chance to relax. Just dont go over board.
10. Listen to music. Music is proven to reduce stress factors, and causes your blood vessels to relax and produce chemicals which protect the heart. So break out the Beethoven!!!
11.  Social interaction has numerous mental health benefits. Talk through any problems, and help others get through theirs. So find a good friend, and vent your little heart out!
12. Remember, it is okay to say “No”. There is a lot of peer pressure to go out/stay in/do this/do that. It is your life and you know better than anybody what time you need to yourself.
13.  Balance work, study and your social life. Plan ahead, make goals, achieve them and celebrate. Make sure you also leave some time to sleep! (Day planners are an easy way to help maintain a balanced schedule that you can handle)
14. Eat well and at regular intervals throughout the day. It is unhealthy to starve yourself and gorge food in the evening.
15. Kissing is good for the heart. When you kiss, your body releases adrenalin which helps prevent cardio-vascular disease. Kissing is an effective means of reducing stress and requires the contraction of many facial muscles which increases the blood supply to the face and makes you look healthier. Do it often enough and you will also be losing weight (kissing burns off 2-5 calories per minute, and making love (because you wanted to know this!) will burn off 50 – 100 calories depending on the intensity. (not neccesary but sure is fun ;) )
16.  Go to bed! Adequate sleep is essential to be healthy.

Think about it!

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do what is right, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do what is right anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
...
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

~Anonymous

A lesson on priorities

"A meteorology professor stood before his Meteorology 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty glass mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fil...l it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a jar of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open spaces between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar and of course the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and then proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things -- your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. "The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18. "There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Dont judge me because I sin differently from you!

Why do we cast so much judgement? Even worse why do we chose to judge so quickly? I pondered this as I lay on the beach today. Thats always where I do the most thinking! I began to think about one of my newer friendships. If you would have asked me a month ago how I felt about this particular woman, I would have given you a mouthful of reasons why I dislike her. One of them? Her appearance. How immature am I?! But after this weekend, and esspecially today, I would tell you that a month from now, we will probably be close friends! Its crazy what can happen when we chose to ignore the judgement we cast and get to know them before we decide if we dont like them. I regret judging, and im glad im choosing to change all that (:Many Blessings,
Cedes

Every day is a page in your book, so get to writting!

We dont embrace our moments near enough. We take for granted the idea that we will have tomorrow, when we arent even promised it! We push things off, we dont tell the people close to us how much we love them, we dont reach out to the broken, we dont do the things that we dream. Think about the person closest to you. Now imagine waking up tomorrow and finding out that they were gone, forever. What was the last thing you said to them? Do you go to bed angry, upset, arguing with them? When was the last time you told them that you love them? Hugged them? Told them that you were there for them no matter what? Think about it.
This weekend has been a serving eye opener. I spent a great majority of friday helping prepare for an easter egg hunt. I went to Chilis with a group of people and we were able to invite our waitress and her little ones. She even came to church today. That alone was enough to make the countless hours of hard work and the thousands of eggs I hand stuffed so worth it! Are you loving people around you? Ive truly been shown what happens when you reach out to others, even when youdo not know them!
Every day, write your story. Make eachday worth living. And always, always tell those you love how much they mean to you!
Always,
Mercedes

Empowerment

This week I've definately been on an empowerment streak. I'm discouraged by the fact that despite living in the 21st century, people still limit me. A statisitc was shared with me on wednesday. It was that men do significantly better than women in math and science. As a math major, I find that a disturbing fact. It has alot to do with stereotyping. Despute the time period I live in, women are still viewed as less. Its hard to teach my young girls that they can be anything they want to be, when they are exposed to a society that tells them women are always less succesful. Does that disturb anyone else? Im glad to see pbs shows, like Sid the Science Kid, promoting womens abilities. Today I went to turn the tv off, but changed my mind. Ive alwayys liked Sid the Science Kid for educational purposes, and figured it wouldnt harm the girls to let them watch 20 more minutes of tv. I was surely not dissapointed when I realized the episode was all about Women Scientists, and how girls can be anything they want to be. The girls loved it, and have been talking ever since about what kind of scientist they want to be when they grow up! I still find it awful to be under a stereotype viewed as lesser, but i'm glad that there is starting to be a change in some direction. Girls can do anything. If we were unleashed to our full potential, we could be the most powerful force in the world!