Ladies, how many of you have ever felt the societal pressure to look a certain way? To achieve specific standards to make you “beautiful”? I think it’s safe to say that every single woman or young girl has felt this pressure at some point in her life. Because of this, every one of us has also struggled to feel “beautiful”. Recently, I decided to participate in the on-campus sessions at my school for The Body Project, with the intention and strong passion to better my knowledge and practice of body positivity.
The Body Project is a body image program dedicated to researching and resisting the appearance ideal, along with reducing eating disorders in young women nation-wide. Formed in 2012 by Drs. Eric Stice and Carolyn Becker, this project facilitated by peer-leaders has reached over 3.5 million young girls and young women in 25 plus countries. Emmanuel College is proudly one of the first campuses in Massachusetts to have the honor of facilitating this women’s workshop.
After two weeks of two group sessions and take-home exercises, I have come out the other side with a freshened and enlightened passion for female empowerment and body positivity. Additionally, as a young college woman and someone who has long struggled with an eating disorder, I not only gained deeper insights to my own experiences, but I also entered a community of young women with similar experiences to mine.
The safe space this workshop provided allowed all of us to open up about past experiences, connect with each other and share new experiences. I have to admit, it wasn’t always easy, as this project challenged me to face the harsh realities of my own self-esteem of my appearance. However, facing this challenge with the support system I made through this group and conquering them with the empowered messages I learned and practiced, truly inspired confidence and better health in me.
Is reflecting on yourself hard? Absolutely! Is it worth it? Again, absolutely! So, to all my strong Emmanuel women, please feel free to contact the bodyproject@emmanuel.edu if you are interested in becoming a part of this awesome journey.
If nothing else, I encourage you to understand that it’s okay to talk about your insecurities and it’s okay to struggle with them. We have all been there. We all understand what these re-occurring challenges from the appearance ideal, feel like. However, I stand here today also telling you that it gets better and it starts with a conversation.
I started the conversation with my fellow Emmanuel Body Project peers and it is without a doubt one of the best decisions that I have ever made.