Even if you don’t realize you’re beautiful, your fellow Gamecocks definitely do! February 23- 27 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week and here at the University of South Carolina it is also Carolina BeYOUtiful Week. Every year USC makes these two weeks coincide to promote greater levels of positive body image. Throughout this week there will be several events that will help students celebrate their individuality and feel confident in their own bodies.
We all have secret insecurities about our bodies and ourselves, but that’s just the point; we ALL have them. On Monday, February 23 at 7 p.m. in Patterson Hall Classroom, PostSecret will help students realize that everyone has internal struggles that they face. Anonymous secrets will be displayed to encourage conversation and show students they are not alone in their insecurities.
Any day is a good day for a selfie, so why not take one on Greene Street Tuesday from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. to help boost your #selfieesteem? There is so much negativity in the media concerning body image, Tuesday is the day to help fight that and show Instagram the most positive, confident, and beautiful you! In order to reinforce the importance of ignoring societal expectations of beauty as portrayed by the media, you can join in the Barbie & Me talk in the Patterson Hall Classroom at 8 p.m. that same day.
Find your inner peace and relaxation by becoming an honorary yogi for the day at the Green Quad Learning Center on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Enjoy a free yoga class and focus on loving yourself. At 8 p.m. join Sonya Renee Taylor, an award-winning poet, activist, and transformational leader, for an interactive workshop about self-love and body empowerment in the Russell House Ballroom.
As the final event of BeYOUtiful Week, make sure to be in the Johnson Auditorium in the Darla Moore School of Business at 7 p.m. Friday to “Stroll Out Stigma” and no, you will not be walking around the business school. Strolling involves a group of people lining up and dancing uniformly, which at this event symbolizes solidarity in agreeing upon the negative impact of body shaming on the self- confidence and pride of individuals.
Be Confident, Be Positive, and BeYOUtiful !