20 min writing #3

Self esteem.  It's such a big issue when teens start branching out and becoming independent.  When teenage girls become young adults, we strive for this self image of ourselves that we can be proud of.  I think everywhere there are girls struggling with self esteem issues.  Our society nowadays is constantly telling us we need to be thinner, prettier, shorter, have longer hair, perfect skin, be smart, be perfect.  The big focus is mainly on our outward appearances and what we present to other people.  Most girls that are searching for their identity though, need to start looking inward.  I've realized that outward appearance matter, yes, but not nearly as much as the inside.  I've found that my identity is in Jesus Christ, my father, and that not flesh nor any mortal thought can get in the way of that.  I am made in a perfect image, and for that I need not worry what other people think of me.  I don't care if people don't like my hair, my clothes, my decisions.  No matter what I do I will always have the abounding love of my father shining through me and any mistake I will make.   I desire that other girls searching for their identity stop judging themselves based off of what a boy thinks of them, or what society thinks of them.  We are loved daughters of Christ and we need to start paying attention to worth that's measured in a whole different way.  Society tells us that we aren't good enough.  That's a lie.  We see suicides every day from struggling teens tormented by bullying, or by feeling like they aren't worth it.  It pains me to think that there are people my age all around me that are not content with who they are or what their circumstances may be, and that sometimes it can lead to the taking of their own life.  The pressure to be like by our peers is there.  I feel it every day just like everyone else, but I've also found peace that if someone doesn't like my choices, there is nothing I can do to change that.  And that's not my problem.  I am confident that I am and am becoming everyday exactly who God made me to be.  That's not to say I don't struggle with being content.  I do.  It's just that I am also at peace and trusting that those doubts have no power of me.  They won't last forever, and I can easily escape them.  I hope that someday I can reach girls in their soul searching time of life and deliver them the good news- that no matter what, they are loved.  Our culture needs to stop shaming girls who aren't under 150 pounds, and that love eating pizza and cake.  I hope one day our society can value a person based on what they see when our eyes our closed.