Teen Body Image

I have had the pleasure of having Nikki Greenbaum as my intern. She is a senior at Jericho High School and I asked her to give me her take on teens and body image.

Looking in the mirror… we all do it. In the morning before the day begins, on a bathroom break, or getting in your car. We all look in the mirror. The question that always has interested me is, what do we see? Do we see the beauty in us or do only the flaws stare back at us? In today’s culture, pressure is on most teenagers to be a certain way. The media shows a model of how one should be. Open up any magazine and you will see that “Thin is in”. Being a teenager myself, I have seen my friends struggle with this concept. Since I was younger I have always had a fast metabolism. I have never been too concerned about the way my body looks. I have noticed though from watching others, that it can be a huge struggle. I have watched close friends battle eating disorders and being overweight. I have seen their beautiful faces stare in the mirror and only three words will exit their lips, “I am fat.” I have watched them look through magazines and say, “Why can’t I look like her?” Our society seems to be overly obsessed with the way they look to others. Teenagers desire to fit in can drive this obsession to an unhealthy body image. The images in the media present teens with defined standards of attractiveness that is often not realistic. The way one appears has little to do with one’s body image. It is about self-confidence. If you walk into a pool party hiding under your towel, people will think you have something to hide. We just need to be confident and proud of the people we are. The way you see yourself shouldn't be based on how much you weigh. No one needs to be stick thin to be beautiful. I think what is beautiful is diversity. Being different isn’t a bad thing at all. It makes a person who they are. We shouldn’t look at others and dream to be them. We should look in the mirror and see ourselves. We need to look past our flaws and see our true beauty. Being thin or looking like your favorite celebrity isn’t what is beautiful. We all need to be ourselves and stop looking at what the media thinks is beautiful. So the next time you stop to look in the mirror remember this, people see what we show them.