A few weeks ago I was
contacted by Amour Propre. Never heard of them? Well they're a great
company that aims to decrease bullying by using student advocates and
adults that have come out the other side. And also they
have cool t-shirts, which is always fun.
Calvin, the creator of the
company, asked me to think a bit about my story before we met up to
shoot so that I could have something genuine and unique to say. So I
began to think back to high school and middle school,
not exactly the best of times. And it really made me realize that as
women, we never truly stop being bullies. Girls make snide comments
behind their friend's back, and continue to do so when they're grown
women.
So even if I aimed my
comments at a teenage version of myself, they could easily be applicable
to someone my age. As adults we still need to find the courage to stand
up for ourselves, to stand up for others. Every
time someone makes a "go eat a hamburger" joke the 13 year old in me
cringes and tries to hide in the shadows, but the 24 year old puffs her
chest out and looks them in the eye. Insulting my body won't make you
love yours more, Insulting my style won't make
you trendier, Pointing out my dorkiness won't make you any cooler.
Instead, work on loving
yourself and loving the people around you, every dorky bit of them. I
stand by my senior year motto: You do You.
"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde
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