By Sarah Zaytoun
Society is always changing. In today's society, we have the need to conform. It is very hard to find your own identity when you are always trying to be someone else. After all, being unique in a conformist society can be quite difficult.
Being a young girl and then turning into a young woman is not simple. Girls go through day-to-day obstacles that make them doubt themselves all the time. The media is the biggest manipulator. Every day they tell young girls how to eat, what to eat, how to dress, what weight they should be, what is cool and what is not, etc.
So what can we do to stop this problem? Well, the first step is to allow young girls to free themselves from what the media tries to depict as true and real. Girls need to be aware that the models they see in magazines are far from real and are airbrushed to the maximum. Not only are their faces airbrushed, but so are their bodies. They are transformed into complete perfection. The media tries its best to entice people into thinking how society should be rather than what society really is.
Throughout my adolescent years, I always felt insecure about myself. Media and society did not make this easier. Watching T.V., I always tried to emulate celebrities. They seemed like pure perfection. Everything about them seemed to be unattainable; whether it was the way they dressed, their body, or their ?natural? charisma. I tried so hard for years to live up to these expectations. I had no idea what the media was about. The more people are made to feel insecure about themselves, the more people feel the need to consume. Consumption = making money = the media wins. It is a very simple equation. The media?s goal is to send a common message to the world to entertain, not to inform.
What some people do not understand is that we are all unique pieces of art. A piece of art can never be replicated to look exactly alike. We must embrace this fact by embracing our differences. We all have a common cause and want the same things in life: happiness, the ideal job, to find love, and have a good social life, but what should we do in order to reach our goals?
This is where the six elements of self-fulfillment come in. These elements are: 1) Self-awareness 2) Self-esteem 3) Loving ourselves and then loving others 4) Censoring out elements of the media 5) Having a goal and/or a realistic dream 6) Taking action.
To me, self-awareness is the base from which we can achieve our goals. It is about understanding our capabilities and what we can accomplish. Self-esteem is something that has to be generated from within. A lot of people?s self-esteem is generated from other-esteem, which is very wrong. We must be happy with who we are and accept all of our flaws and look for the beauty of our imperfections. In order to love others we must first love ourselves. That falls under self-esteem. The media portrays an illusion of reality. Not all parts of the media are detrimental. It is important, however, to censor the parts that are. Examples of these parts are the media?s take on body image and what beauty is. A major part of getting what we want out of life is to have a plan or a goal. Most importantly, having realistic goals will prevent us from facing major disappointment. Once you know your goal, take action!
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