1 WALK down the runway.
‘The audience is applauding
_ the latest Paris fashion I am
modeling and, best of all,
, Richard Gere in my arms...
Suddenty 1 wake up. I am no
‘longer Cindy Crawford, but
“an average 16-year-old girl .
and the pillow I was clutching
ais definitely not Richard —

By Anna O'Brien
Contributing Writer

wT have recently realized some-
“thing a lot of girls have yet to leam,
and that is the only way to find hap- .,
“Pines is to be happy with yourself.”.

No matter how hard you try to
“change your looks, the final product
will never be good enough for you.
‘It's what's inside that really. counts,

I know this because I went)
through a period of having absolute-':
y no self-esteem. No matter how.

: “many. ‘times [ tooked in the mirror, I :

- was néver satisfied with what I saw.
“So I'decided to make a change. q
‘changed my hair, went to a tanning’,
salon, and got colored contact lens-
es. At the time I thought these
“changes would tum me into a whole
new person. \ °.. ;

=" But when I looked at my new -
self; I didn’ t feel any better. So net

if Chad blue eyes and a tan, | still
didn't like myself and that's what
people saw. Even iff was paid a
compliment, | thought it was said
more out of kindness than honesty.
Viried to figure out why my self

esteem had dropped so much.

I was reading a magazine article
discussing how to make yourself the
girl thal every guy wants, und as 1
glanced through it, 1 expected to read
about personality traits, All| learned
were dieting and skin care tips, and

: Nirting strategies, | felt like ripping

the magazine apart. How could any-

~ one base their life on their looks!

That's when I realized why teens
are feeling all the pressure — it's an
image promoted by the media.

Today, girts as old as cight-yeurs-

> old are looking through magazines

and comparing themselves to the
anorexic, skinny, six-foot-tall models
gracing glossy magazine ads, It is
unrealistic and stupid, yet girls still
get depressed because they don't
match up.

It is a dream for many people to
become a supermodel, J believe,
because they think it’s the perfect

life, But is it?

Imagine yourself asa model, out
for lunch. Everyone is indulging in a
hamburger and fries but your biggest
decision is whether to put dressing
on your salad. I mean hey, you can’t
ruin that perfect figure.

. The worst thing about a model is
that the media makes her look as if

she is “The perfect girl. when really:
she could have no brain or personali- .

ty and be as dumb as a wali...
{ have heard the line, “t want to

‘be just like Cindy Crawford”, one
': too many times, a

What has she done except get:

photographed putting on lipstick and

getting paid millions of dollars from.
Revion? ls this a role model? ;
The truth is that if you concen-

.. tate more oa liking yourself for. who
’. you are and caring more about your
“inner beauty, people will look past

~ , your appearance and see that you

have self-esteem and confidence.
Self-confident people act { confi dent

Purchase your collision?
and comprehensive
| coverage by phone, =

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and feel comfonable with them:
selves and others, Therefore, others
feel comfortable with (hem.

1 believe. people should stop com-

* paring themselves to others,

Look at yoursell through differ-

“ent cyes and see the whole picture,

You will realize what is most impor-
tant, and that is you,

Anna O'Brien ix a Sutherland
secondary school student who was
enrolled in the Video Production
Career Preparation Program at Leo
Marshall Curriculum Centre.

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