After a long day at school, she goes home and looks at herself in the bathroom mirror. She sees something she doesn’t want to see and she asks herself why she is the way she is. She continues to look up and down at her body, and finds every little flaw about herself that she wants to change. She lifts her shirt up and sees her gut bulging over the waste band of her jeans and she started to cry. She pulled her hair back and knelt down with her head in the toilet, in her mind, she though that was the solution. Later that night, she refused to eat dinner and sat in her room, staring blankly at the walls. Her only wish: to be skinny.

Low self-esteem: something that people have to deal with every day. Whether they make fun of other people to feel better about themselves or be completely isolated from the world, it’s still there. It’s a person’s overall appraisal of their own worth. Someone that has a low self-esteem think less of themselves compared to other people. In particular, teenage girls struggle with their weight because in high school it’s usually the girls with the flawless figures get more attention. But why does weight matter so much? Because celebrities and models are big influences to teenage girls and portray the “perfect” figure as someone whose slim with nice curves. Trends constantly change. But why has it always been that skinny is more attractive than having some meat on your bones? The concept that being skinny makes you attractive can result in girls doing whatever it takes to have that “perfect” figure. In some cases, girls are so focused on how they can lose weight that it can even result to them becoming bulimic or anorexic. These conditions can become such serious issues that it can lead to hospitalization. Think about it…girls strive to be someone who they aren’t all because they want to be “beautiful”. Pretty ridiculous, huh?

The question still remains unknown, why are the skinny girls considered prettier than girls who are overweight? Maybe it’ll never be known, but why should it matter? They shouldn’t be so wrapped up in it. As long as a girl can be comfortable with herself, she shouldn’t care what other people think of her. Instead of trying to be someone they aren’t, they should love themselves for who they already are. Fat or skinny, as long as they’re happy with themselves, then that’s all that matters.

She comes home, puts her things down, and goes into the bathroom. This time when she lifts up her shirt and that little gut is still there, she smiles and says, “Man, do I look good.”