“I’m so ugly” was a frequent thought in my teens, closely followed by the similar “I’m not as pretty as her” when comparing myself to friends or other women in magazines and on TV.
Self-esteem is a mahoosive issue for teens, especially for girls. While I desperately wish that young people could see how wonderful and beautiful they are, in all their uniqueness, convincing them of that is often near impossible. There are some simple, practical things that I reckon could help though!
I remember as a teenager seeing a clothing advert with a moorland theme and a model wearing a gorgeous heather pink jumper. I adored it! I skipped along to said clothing company, grabbed the jumper and tried it on.
I looked hideous. I may have even cried in disappointment at my reflection. I left the store without the previously-beloved item of clothing, but with “I’m so ugly” echoing around my head.
What I didn’t know then is that although I love mulberry pink, mulberry pink does not love me. Having a Colour Me Beautiful consultation for my 30th birthday was one of the useful things I’ve ever done. If only I’d known in my teens that everyone has certain colours that really work for them, while other colours – like pink for me – can discolour your complexion hideously.
But back then I thought the problem was me and the fact I just wasn’t as attractive as that model.
I had a similar experience after Christmas when I saw a jumper I loved in an online sale. They didn’t have it in my size, so I dragged my family into town on Boxing Day morning to see if it was in store. It was! I grabbed it, tried it on…and looked like a big fat frump.
Now that I’m older and wiser (!) the voice in my head saying “I’m so ugly” didn’t get a look in. No, thanks to Trinny and Susannah’s “Body Shape Bible” I knew instantly that the problem wasn’t me, but that the jumper was crew-necked making my torso look square and my boobs look like water balloons! The online model had narrow shoulders and small boobs, so it’d looked great on her. As well as different colours suiting different people’s colouring, the same is true of body shapes and clothing shapes.
IF ONLY I’D KNOWN WHAT COLOURS AND CLOTHING SHAPES SUITED ME WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER THEN I WOULD HAVE SAVED MYSELF SOOOO MUCH HEARTACHE!!!!
Colour/Style Consultations should be compulsory for all teenagers. Seriously, they should be part of PSCHEE (or whatever it’s called at the minute). If I had a teenage daughter I would gift her a consultation as soon as seemed appropriate. They aren’t cheap, but they can save a lot of wasted money from buying the “wrong” clothes and, besides, good self-esteem is priceless! I’m much happier with how I look now, but I don’t think that has to just come with age and experience.
Of course, our self-esteem should come from a much deeper place than the clothes we wear, but with all the different attacks coming at it on a daily basis, why not take advantage of a potentially easy fix?! And if something so simple could help smooth the especially rocky road of Teen, then why on earth don’t we make sure they have that information and knowledge?!
Similar Posts:
- None Found
Hi, I'm Mel (you figured that out already though, right?!) and this is where I chat about things that relate to and inspire my writing, as well as share some of it.