Not Your Typical Scavenger Hunt ;)

Hi Guys!

Ok, I found a great "feel good" activity online that I urge you to do with your family or a friend. 
Below are the list of things you need to do our find.  Some of these might seem meaningless or "dumb", but I truely think that once you have completed each part of the hunt, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment and just happy.  Let me know how it goes!!

• Find a photo of when you were happy or acting silly
• Clip a headline that mentions a woman making the news in science, math or politics
• Sing your favorite song lyric
• Unearth a favorite birthday card you received
• Write a thank-you note to a parent, mentor or teacher
• Call a relative you haven’t spoken to in a while
• Perform a random act of kindness
• Give someone a compliment in person, face-to-face
• Discover an interesting fact about your parent(s) that you didn’t know before
• Ask a parent, mentor or teacher what life was like when they were your age.

I Hope You Dance

Leanne Wolmack's song "I hope you dance" is one of my mom's favorite songs.  When ever it's on the radio, she cranks it up and belts the lyrics.  When this song first came out, I found it to be so annoying!  I was about 8 or 9 and I thought the song was so over played and the lyrics were so corny.  It wasnt until I grew up that I realized how important the lyrics are.  When she says "If you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance", she is saying to jump on opportunities that come your way.  Dont let the voice in the back of your head talk you out of doing something because you think you will look dumb.  Dont just do what everyone else does, be an individual and find that thing that makes you unique and cool.  You will feel more fufilled with yourself if you do what you want to do because it makes you happy then following what everyone else does because you are afraid to be different. 

Surprising Self Esteem Statistics

Hi Guys,

I found some really concerning statistics!  Check them out below, do they bother you too?  Why do you think these statistics are so high?  These statics are from Dove's Research: The Real Truth About Beauty:
Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)

• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves

• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful

• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful but do not see their own beauty

• More than half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic

The last statistic is one I think we can all relate too at some point in our lives.  There will always be some feature on our bodies we wish we could change.  As a result girls run out to spend thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery, but the surgery will never fix how you feel about yourself.  You have to learn to accept and be happy with the way you were made.  Im still learning how to do this. ;)

In Honor of Whitney Houston

Hi Everyone,

The other day, I decided to download some Whitney Houston songs.  I was having one of those days where I just wanted to sing as loud as I could so I thought some Whitney songs would be perfect.  While srolling through itunes, I came across a song I hadn't heard before.  It was called "The Greatest Love of All".  I assumed that it would be a cheezy love song, but it was the total opposite.  The lyrics of the song urge us to learn to love ourselves.  They tell us to pass this type of confidence to other generations.  The lyrics are really beautiful and are very relevant to this blog.  I have posted the music video below.  Try to look past the 1980's music video and just listen to these lyrics; maybe you will enjoy it as much as I did. :)

Good Mood Food

I dont know about you, but when I'm having a bad day I cant wait to go home and eat some of my favorite comfort foods.  The thought of gooey mac & cheese and chocolatey brownies instantly put a smile on my face.  What about you? What comfort foods do you like to eat on those days when you feel like getting into bed, pullng the covers over your head, and just shut the world out?  I decided to do some investigating on what types of foods actually put people in good moods.  What I found may shock you because this list does not include hot fudge sundaes or my gooey mac & cheese!

10. Swiss Chard -Swiss Chard is high in magnesium; lower levels of magnesium in your body can lead to symptoms of depression

9.  Blue Potatoes- These potatoes are high in antioxidants

 

8.  Mussels- Mussels havehigh amounts of Vitamin B12, Selenium, Iodine, protein, and Zinc. The Iodine helps to support the thyroid gland, which helps regulate our mood.

 

7.  Dark Chocolate-  Dark chocolate improves the blood-flow to the brain, and provides an instant boost in concentration and mood, helping you to feel more energetic and vibrant.

6.  Greek Yogurt- Greek yogurt helps a person’s brain by causing it to release happiness-inducing neurotransmitters

 5.  Asparagus-  Asparagus has high levels of folate and tryptophan (low levels of tryptophan lead to depression)

4.   Honey-   Honey is far better than regular sugar. Honey contains kaempferol and quercetin, which helps to prevent depression

 

3.  Cherry Tomatoes-  All tomatoes have lycopene. Lycopene fights inflammation in the brain

2.  Eggs-  Eggs contain Zinc, Vitamin B, Iodine, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and protein. Not only can eggs keep you energized, they can also keep you full longer!

1.   Coconuts-  Coconuts contain triglycerides. Medium-chain triglycerides are special fats that fuel better moods and promote general brain-health

**Pictures and Nutrition Information were found on http://listverse.com/2012/03/28/10-foods-to-make-you-happier/

The Boost Book

While exploring my new favorite website, Dove.com, I came across a brilliant project idea....(Drum Roll...) a BOOST BOOK! Basically what you do is find a note book, any kind of notebook, and paste some of your favorite pictures in it, pictures that make you laugh and smile and remember the better days of your sometimes crazy and hectic life.  Write in your favorite quotes, post pics of your favorite singers, actresses, you family , basically the people who inspire you the most.  You can use it however you want but remember this is a POSITIVE place for you, so avoid writing those sad or frustrating memories (save those for another book ) ;).  This is place for you to go when you are feeling blue.  Let me know how this turns out!

Ads and Culture

For those of you who think that this is a harmless Victoria Secret's ad, you would be wrong! In fact, it is because of images like this one, that entire culture has been  negatively impacted. 

For the past several years the Fijian culture has been greatly influenced by western media.  I came across an article from Harvard News that discussed how in the Fijian culture, food is a sign of wealth and the larger you are (man or woman) the more you are respected in their culture. However, due to the consumption of Western TV shows and other media, the younger generations of women are altering their appearances to form to the women they see in their TV shows.  According to the article, "In 1995, without television, the girls in Fiji appeared to be free of eating disorders common in the West.  But by 1998, after just  a few years of sexy sop operas and seductive commercials, 11.3% of adolescent girls reported they at least once had purged to lose weight,"(Ireland, 2009).

I want you to be aware of the tricks advertisers use to make these ads attractive to viewers.  I want you to see these gorgeous women with their perfect bodies and perfect hair and be able to say to your self "THIS ISN'T REAL!" Yes these women are on the slimmer side in real life, but thanks to air brushing they can become breathtaking super models.  It is important to know that these size 2-0 women are apart of the very small population of women around the world and that the images you see in magazines and on TV do not accurately represent women areound the world.  This image does not define beauty, you define beauty! 

Encoding and Decoding

As a communication's student at SJSU, I took a class about media critisim.  One of the things I learned, that I thought I would relay to you, how the advertisers encode their own meaning into their ads and we decode the meaning of the images we see in ads.  I wanted you guys to know these terms so that you guys can properly evaluate the meaning of the ad and not become a victim to those tricky advertisement techniques. 

Encoding is the meaning the advertiser created
Decoding is how we as viewers, interpret meaning from what we see in the ads. 

There are three types of ways we decode:

Dominant- we recieve the message of the picture or text in an ad in an "unquestioning manner"

Negotiated reading- we can interpet the dominant meaning of the ad from the image

Oppositional reading- when the viewer completely disagrees with the ideological position within an image or they can reject or ignore it all together.

Makeup!!

I will admit, I am a makeup finatic!! I have a drawer of lipgloss, eyeshadows, and coverup that could probably stock the the beauty section at Walgreens.  Like many girls, I wear makeup to feel better about my appearance.  There have even been times where I have put on makup to go to the gym!! How lame is that?   However, underneath my makeup I have decent skin.  I have redness and the occassional pimples, but I have not had to endure the pain of severe acne like I know many girls have.  This one 19 year old girl has been getting alot of publicity from her series of Youtube videos that teach girls how to apply their makeup.  When you first see her, you would never know that under the perfectly applied makeup, she suffers from severe acne.  I found one video that has gained alot of popularity, where she reveals what her face looks like without makeup to the whole world.  She explains how she has struggled with her insecurities about her skin and how learning to apply makeup has changed her life and has helped her build her self esteem.  This girl is a huge inspiration to me and to girls all around the world.  She has been so open about her battle with acne and how it has taken a huge toll on her self esteem.  It his her goal to help other girls in this world who are dealing with the same  situation and help them overcome their insecurities.  This is the perfect example of how makeup can be a positive tool to help build your confidence.  This is a rather long video, but it is worth watching!!

Airbrushing

You know how you see those women on TV or in the magazines who look like they have never had a zit in their life? Honestly, majority of these women probably had a zit or two when shooting their ad, but thanks to the magic of airbrushing, all of their "flaws" disappeared.  These companies spend thousands to millions of dollars on airbrushing, and yet girls still have think that the image they see in front of them is a true life like image; an image that they hope to achieve.  Well let me tell you, the perfectly semetrical faces you see without a freckle or a blemish are not achievable because they arent real, they do not exist in the real world. 

The other day I was walking through safeway and came across on of In Touch's famouse magazine issues where they feature celebrities without their makeup on.  As much as I hate to read some of the nasty comments made in the magazine about these makeupless stars, I actually like that they publish this type of issue.  For me it shows that these stars, under all of the layers of makeup are actually real looking girls and women like me and you!  As you can see from previous posts, I am a huge Dove fan and I came across this amazing video that shows how an average, every day woman can magically be turned into a super model thanks to a professional hair and makeup TEAM and airbrushing.  CHECK IT OUT!! :)

The Awesome Dove Commerical

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share with you one of Dove's awesome commercials, jus tin case some of you haven't seen them.  Unfortunatley, these commercials have not recieved as much air time as they deserve, so I wanted to give you guys an opportunity to see first hand, how great and empowering this commercial really is.  I would love to hear what you think about this commercials... Did it help you?

 I also wanted to attached an ad from the Dove Real Breauty campaign.  This is one of my favorites!!

Dove

Have you seen those Dove campaigns on TV?  They are amazing!! Dove is paving the way for change in the advertisement industry.  Dove is trying to help women of all ages build a positive self image.  It's their thought that a positive self image is passed down through generations and that it is up to mothers, in particular, to exute a positive self image so their daughters will follow in suit.  The Dove website is an amazing place for young women, like yourself, to learn new and fun ways to have a positive and healthy life.  For the past few years, Dove has launched an amazing campaign called "The Campaign for Real Beauty".  Instead of showing petite young women who every girl wishes they could be, they show REAL women of all shapes and sizes.  According to the Dove website:

"In 2011, Dove^® released the findings of its largest global study to date on women’s relationship with beauty—The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited. The study revealed that only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful, and that anxiety about looks begins at an early age. In a study of over 1,200 10-to-17-year-olds, a majority of girls, 72%, said they felt tremendous pressure to be beautiful. The study also found that only 11% of girls around the world feel comfortable using the word beautiful to describe their looks, showing that there is a universal increase in beauty pressure and a decrease in girls' confidence as they grow older."(http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/campaign-for-real-beauty.aspx)

These figures are very sad.  Although Dove is moving in the right directions and changing the way women are being viewed and portrayed in the media, there is still alot of work left to help educate and help girls around the world feel comfortable and confident in their own skin.

What You See Isn't What You Get

While flipping through magazine articles, do you ever astop at a picture and think, "Wow I want their life!"?  Honestly, I have those same moments.  I'll be looking through a amgazine and come across a picture of a man and a woman, sitting at their table in their beautifully remodled kitchen; each one of them has a huge smile on their face.  I get that feely of envy; wishing that could be me; wishing I had a beautiful home that they do.  However images like this one, that paint a picture of what real life is supposed to look like, are not REAL.  Don't be fooled by what you see in these magazines and dont let them bring you down.  This idea is called The Myth of The Photogaphic Truth; "when a photograph is often percieved to be an unmediated copy of the real world, a trace of reality skimmed of the surafce of life"(Sturken, p.17).  These photographers and magazine editors are smart.  A photographer shoots what they want their views to see and they want you to feel a certain way when you look at their pictures.  I want you to be aware of their tactics so you dont ever have to feel bad about yourself or what you dont have. 

The Power of Music

I'm sure many of you can relate to days where you don't feel like getting out of bed; where you want to pull the covers over your head and just shut out the world around you.  There are times where I feel helpless, that nothing I do seems to matter or make a difference.  This is normal; this is something we all go through.  The trick is to try to overcome this feeling of stress, anxiety, or sadness.  I find a great release in music.  I love to listen to slow, calming music that features a piano, violin, or acoustic guitar.  I like to get in my mustang, drive the scenic route by my house and have this calming music in the background.  It clears my mind; my attention is on the road and on the songs.  Hopefully by learning how to cope with the pressures of life, you can learn to recognize how truly special you are and how much you have to offer to those around you. 

One of the songs I have come to love is 'Keep Breathing" by Ingrid Michaelson.  These lyrics speak to me in times when I feel small and she basically sings about the emotions and thoughts I have from time to time.  Maybe you can relate to them too and find her beautiful voice and easy music to be therapeutic and help you regain your motivation to take on the world :)

The Body Positive

Hi Everyone!!

In class today we had a speaker for the SJSU health center.  She gave me a flyer for The Body Positive seminar.  This seems like a worth while event that anyone of all ages can attend.  It is meant to increase self-care for people of all shapes and sizes.  Two women, Connie Sobczak and Jessica Diaz will be leading this event. 

The event will be on Wednesday, April 11 in the Engineering Auditorium; Room 189 on SJSU's campus.  The speakers will be on from 4:00-5:30 followed by FREE FOOD from 5:30-6:30.

Here is this organization's website that provides excellent information on building self esteem, a positive body image, and a healthy lifestyle:

www.thebodypositive.org

Am I Pretty or Ugly?

As apart of my morning ritual, I start my day with watching the Today Show.  Usually I just have it on as background noise, but one report really caught my attention.  Anne Curry, one of the main reporters, was discussing with a psychologist about young girls posting videos of themselves on YouTube, asking their audience if they find them attractive.  These are young teenage girls between 12 and 16!!  What is even more outrageous are the harsh comments that people were  posting in response to her video.  Some people bluntly said that they thought she was ugly! It saddens me that this young girl needed reassurance by total strangers to make her feel secure about her body.  Some people are just plain mean, and will just say hurtful things regardless if you are the most beautiful person in the world or not.  Not only will posting these types of videos not help you build your self esteem, but posting pictures and videos of yourself online, makes you more vulnerable to unwanted viewers, like sex offenders.  I am posting this video with the hopes of showing you that this is not a healthy method to help build your confidence.  Surround yourself with positive, loving people who help to make you feel good about yourself, and have your best interest at heart.  We have all gone through times of self doubt, feeling like we don't measure up to what society expects us to be like or look like.  Be strong and tell yourself that you are perfect that way you are.  Seriously!! Say it to yourself out loud, in front of the mirror. 

Welcome!

Hi Everyone and welcome to my first blog post!! The Learning to Love Yourself blog is geared towards educating young women on how to create a positive self image, build their self esteem, and separate the world of advertisement and celebs from the real world.  I have young cousins and nieces who are constantly being exposed to sexually explicit ads and TV shows that encourage them to dress, look, and act a certain way.  My goal is to help build a stronger, positive YOU and to help you look past the images you see on a daily basis and help you feel comfortable in your own skin.  I want to educate you on the tricks that these advertisements use that are meant to capture young girls' attention.  If you refuse to buy into the lies they feed you then you will be able to look in the mirror and be happy to just be you:)