Response to Speaker

On Tuesday we had a speaker come into our dynamics of clothing class and talk to us about self-esteem, especially focused on eating disorders. I was shocked by the percentage of young teenagers already having these problems. The speaker told a story about how Oprah had a young kindergarten aged girl on her show who told Oprah how important her weight was. And that was a kindergartner! I was shocked by the fact that "becoming fat" was rated the biggest fear for teenage girls, ranking over losing their parents or a nuclear war.

It was interesting to discuss the fashion side of these problems. All of the models are very underweight. And every magazine has photos that are photo-shopped and airbrushed to perfection. Because of these things, the worlds view of the perfect beauty has been so distorted that it has become unattainable. During this class we also discussed the different eating disorders, and how to help those people who are having eating problems.



I loved listening to this guest speaker and I walked out of the class having my self-esteem renewed. We are all beautiful people trying to all look like one perfect person. We should stop trying to conform and realize that having a healthy, beautiful body is something that is unique to each person on this earth. Elder Jefferey R. Holland said, "no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that he loves each of us-insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all."