am i pretty enough? I thought I wasn’t like the other girls around me in high school. I knew I was a good person on the inside, I just wasn’t sure if I was pretty enough on the outside for boys. At least I was beautiful on the inside though, that’s what they always...
Body Image and Young Women
My Body Changed & I Hate It: Comparison and Body Dysmorphia
I Was A Celery Stick I used to be that girl. You know, the perfectionist. The girl who acted like she had her life together, who had everything figured out. The goody two shoes rule-follower, the straight A student, the perfect little Christian girl…you name it, I’ve...
Skipping Lunch Is No Big Deal, Right? Restrictive Dieting, Over Exercising & Orthorexia
The Makings of my orthorexia As my body matured and grew through puberty, I found myself in an unhealthy romantic relationship with a boy that was crumbling. I also found myself busier and more stressed than ever between my honors classes, extracurriculars, sports,...
I Didn’t Know I Struggled: One Ballet Dancer’s Body Image Perspective
It took me being an intern for a body image-focused platform to face the fact that I struggle with my body image. Crazy right? For a long time, I thought body image issues were something that I couldn’t possibly struggle with as someone who would be conventionally...
The Burden of Better is For: College Students
College can be a transformative time, but for some people as they enter this stage in life, they find themselves trapped in old habits. At school, there are new people to compare yourself against, new obstacles to climb, and new ways to fall short. Only one person is...
The Burden of Better is For: Young Women
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul tells the younger Timothy to fill his life with “great gain” through godliness and contentment. In verse 7, he reminds all who thirst for more material possessions, status, or money of a truth you’ve likely heard before: “We brought nothing into...
How Victoria’s Secret Impacts Body Image: A Letter to My Daughter
I wrote this quick letter to my daughter about her value a few months ago, the evening that the Victoria's Secret swimsuit special aired on national television. I think our girls have it tough on the body image front in this Victoria's Secret world we live in. I...
How Do I Help My Daughter With Her Body Image? The First 4 Steps
I don't know at what exact moment it all changed. But I remember in third grade when I stood in front of the gold-trimmed, full-length mirror in the corner of my room and made an assessment that I would carry with me for decades: My thighs were large. This thought...
Stop Telling Her She’s Pretty: Help Your Daughter Feel Confident
As we continue our Helping Your Daughter with her Body Image Series, today, I want to ask you to do something unexpected to help your daughter feel confident. I want you to stop telling her she's pretty. Allow me to explain how this can help your daughter feel...
Helping Your Daughter With Body Image Issues
At barely six-weeks-old, I was forced to engage in my daughter's body image battle. I visited the office of my periodontist in an effort to overhaul my terribly messed-up, post-pregnancy gums. With an hour round-trip to his office, my husband and I deemed it wise to...
