How we feel
about ourselves matter a lot in our everyday life. We all have inner
insecurities, but in the end, how we handle those deep matters that plague us
will depend on how we view ourselves, our capacities and the amount of value we
place on ourselves. Our relationship with people and the respect and value we
place on them depends on our general well being, and in our dealings with people;
we unknowingly give out reflections of ourselves, hence the need for a healthy
self esteem.
Last week, on
the project, the teenagers learnt about self esteem and the importance of
maintaining a healthy self esteem. During the session for introspection, the
class was split into team A and team B and were all asked to take few minutes to
think and write out positives about themselves. After a while, they were given
papers and asked to write out things they felt insecure about which led us to
discussing several things written in their papers. Top of the issues mentioned
was the way they felt about their bodies and the way others responded to them in
connection to their bodies. Some explained that they had been bullied and
looked down at. This was mostly common among the girls even though the boys
were equally not left out. This session then took us to our next issue for discussion
which was on body shaming.
Body shaming is
the act of judging, criticising or looking down at someone based on how a
person’s body is. In recent times, body shaming has gotten more attention as
this subject has caused widespread reactions, from suicides to depression and
to cyber bullying; it definitely has everyone talking about it one way or the
other. It has become a universal subject no longer to be ignored. Body shaming
is not just practiced in schools anymore. It has become even more real as we
hear accounts of adults changing jobs or moving out of a particular area as a
result of body shaming. It is easier to imagine that everyday people are the
ones who struggle with this horrible issue, but it turns out that even notable people
have had to speak up about it as well. Some of the celebrities like Sam Smith,
Rob Kardashian, Demi Lovato and Pink have all spoken up against body shaming. Body
shaming affects a person’s emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Before the close
of class, there were talks about body weight, breast sizes and other body
features. Class polls were taken and the boys were asked if a girl’s breast
size or other body features was more important to them than her positive inner
qualities and the boys disagreed and said their focus would be on the inner
qualities. The girls were asked same, and they all agreed that inner qualities
were more important in their assessment of anyone. It is worthy to mention that these seeming insecurities
did not come only as a result of how the members of the opposite sex treated
them. The inferiority complex on mentioned subjects came also as a result of
self comparison even with people of same sex and their thoughts and beliefs on
how they fell below standard.
At the end of
the day, it was pleasing to see that they had been enlightened and encouraged
to focus on things about themselves for which they felt beautiful and positive about, because in
the long run, how they feel about themselves will reflect on the choices and
decisions they make. The class concluded on the note that success or failure
begins from within. It is all hinged upon our self esteem.
PHOTOS
Some of the opinions mentioned by team A
Some of the positive things they liked about themselves
Some of the opinions mentioned by team B
