A Campaign For Confidence!
by Mayowa Adebiyi
Teen years for girls are a time for self-discovery and self-development. As your hormones and physical appearance begin to change, frustrations around identity and self-esteem often begin to develop. From a young age we are constantly bombarded with media imagery that focuses on the perfection of women’s bodies and we are lead to believe that we have to conform to a certain standard to be considered normal or beautiful.
As a young female I experienced this battle between my image and what was ‘normal’. My fuller physique was abnormal to me and I used to try and fight it through excessive exercise and diets. Controlling my weight began to become a way to define my happiness. I battled with this need for perfection in my life. I believed it would make me happier; I’d be treated better and be more satisfied with who I was.
With new experiences and new friends I developed a new approach to the way I perceived myself – the only thing I needed to work on perfecting was my mentality. Confidence and healthy self-esteem are very important in our development when we are young. It provides us with a better chance of being happy and progressing into healthy and high-achieving adults.
I set up The Red Alert Youth Beauty Campaign (www.redalertyouthbeauty.com) in order to help young women develop confidence and embrace their individuality. The campaign will aim to provide young women with guidance and the opportunity to express and relate through creativity including expert advice, inspirational messages, fantastic poetry, great music, and letters.
Confidence is an important trait to have and I’m encouraging young females to come and discover themselves with my new campaign. To be confident you should surround yourself with positive and inspirational people who embrace you as you are but also inspire you to achieve your goals in life. Do not set your standards and let others opinions define you, take action and involve yourself with hobbies and activities you enjoy. Try and be an optimist and form positive opinions about yourself whether it be regarding your appearance or traits. Love yourself and strive for a healthier and happier mindset – the rest will fall into place.
Tags: body image, confidence, develop, individuality, Influence, Mayowa Adebiyi, media, model, plus size, self esteem, The Red Alert Youth Beauty Campaign, young women
