Looking good?
Do you smile when you look in the mirror or do you want to run in the opposite direction?
You go shopping with your mates and they’re all trying on clothes, do you:
a. watch but don’t join in because you’d look awful in everything
b. try everything on too, it’ll be great fun!
You sleep through your alarm and have to get ready in a rush. Before leaving the house you take one final look at yourself, do you:
a. burst into tears at your reflection and search for a paper bag to put over your head
b. pull your hair back, dab on some lip gloss and smile
You’re watching MTV when they introduce a new girl group do you:
a. instantly compare yourself to them and realise they’ve got skinnier legs, a smaller tummy and glossier hair than you
b. turn your nose up at the music but love the cut-off denim skirt the lead singer is wearing
You’re at a party throwing some serious shapes on the dance floor when you notice a group of girls looking over, do you:
a. stop immediately and blush with embarrassment
b. smile at them safe in the knowledge that they’re lovin’ the moves that you’re bustin’
When you get home, you can hardly contain your yawns do you:
a. lay awake thinking about how great everyone else looked
b. clean off your make up and fall straight to sleep, you’re so tired after all that dancing!
Mostly a’s:
Too much time spent comparing yourself to others and worrying about what other people think of you means that life becomes all sorts of dull. Try not to compare yourselves to anyone, you’re YOU-nique. Next time you look in the mirror, I dare you to find at least one thing you like about yourself, it can be your oh-so-long eyelashes that don’t need mascara, the way your favourite jeans hug your bum, the sprinkling of freckles across your nose, just something that when you look in the mirror turns your frown upside down!
Mostly b’s:
You know that nobody is perfect so instead of getting hung up on the bits you don’t like, you celebrate and enhance the good stuff. There are even times when you embrace the not-so-good bits anyway, because you know that when it all comes together, it makes a super cool version of YOU and that’s such a good thing.
No Comparison
My very cool and prettilicious friend, Sadie, thinks that her life would be infinitely more fabulous if she had bigger lady bumps. She obsesses about her 34A bra fillers on a daily basis, expressing the need and necessity for plastic surgery as soon as she turns 16, to anyone who will listen. Today is no exception.
‘It’s not fair,’ she says, with her hands on her T-shirt covered chest, standing in front of my full-length, fairy light-lit, bedroom mirror. ‘Why haven’t I got boobs like Eva Satine?’
While others may pick up glossy magazines and go green with envy at images of models, actresses and celeb types, the object of obsession at our school is Evil Eva. She’s that girl. The one who’s beautifully packaged but has nasty, knotted insides that make her very rude and terribly unpretty.
Despite this, Sadie wants to be her, a lot.
Not because she gets good grades (which she does), or because she’s got teeth like a girt out of a toothpaste commercial (which she has), no, it’s because she has, according to Sadie, the perfect cleavage.
‘They’re just so round and, you know, there,’ gestures Sadie pushing her own lady bumps together and upwards.
I sigh a big sigh. I’ve never wanted big boobs but I did used to wonder what it would be like to be a size 10 or to have a walk-in wardrobe like Eva, but when I saw the world through pink-tinted shades I realised how super-boring it would be if we were all the same. We’d be like a teen version of The Stepford Wives, all glossy hair and robot-like with false smiles and no personality. That would most definitely not rock.
I give Sadie the hugest hug, and tell her that she is the most scrumptiously gorgeous girl and that having a small chest is cool because she gets to wear those to-die-for tight tees from the kids department that cost £2.99. She nudges me playfully in the ribs, before breaking into a fit of giggles. She agrees that this is most deffo a good reason and one that she hadn’t previously thought of. I then tell her how much the average bra costs and she is even more than thankful that she doesn’t have to wear one yet.
Change what you see
Take a look in the mirror, I know it might sound a bit scary but for every so-called imperfection you find, instead of feeling bad and sad about it, change it into a positively smile-worthy thing. It’s simple…
BEFORE: ‘I’ve got so many freckles, I hate them.’
AFTER: ‘Having freckles will always mean I look younger than I am, which will be very helpful when I’m 84.’
BEFORE: ‘I have to wear glasses all the time’
AFTER: ‘Wearing glasses will mean I no longer miss out on a buff-beauty stealing glances – I will also look super smart!’
Your turn!
This girl will rock your world…
The lovely Lauren Laverne – radio DJ, TV presenter, guitar strumming goddess, queen of cool – rock on!
She says: ‘IT’S REALLY TOUGH BEING A TEENAGER AND GIRLS ARE SO HARD ON THEMSELVES, BUT IT DOES GET BETTER. JUST BE NICE TO YOURSELF. YOU’RE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE SO BE HAPPY AND ENJOY YOURSELF.’
Dare to be different
I rip up any rulebook that tells me what I should or shouldn’t wear because life is far too short to conform. We all have different sides to our personalities – that’s what makes us so distinctive and interesting. So what if one day you want to be all 1950s glam girl and the next you want to be a retro punk princess?
While these contradictions might be confusing