Happy 'Day of the Girl' !!!

Today marks international Day of the Girl. School Girls Unite, which is an organization made up of students and young women leaders in the US and Mali who are working towards the UN's Millenium Development Goals (universal basic education, child marriage prevention, etc), has created this day to "highlight, celebrate, discuss, and advance girls lives and opportunities across the globe."  I recently started volunteering with 3rd-5th grade girls, and more than ever before have I seen just how important it is to educate young girls, especially regarding media and their perceptions (more on this later!).

The purpose of this day- Day of the Girl- is to advocate for girls all over the world by raising awareness of some of the issues that are unique to girls. Some of these issues include sex trafficking- which takes place here in the US as well as other countries around the globe; female mutilation; relationship abuse/domestic violence; education and literacy; and negative media images. This last one is one that I often highlight on my blog. You can check out these posts below for more on media, mixed messages, and advertising.

• On Health
• Airbrushing
• What Does It Mean to Have a Healthy Body Image??
• Think Before You Advertise
• Actions Speak Louder Than Words
• An Open Letter to Shape Magazine

These are just a few of the posts I have written in the past on the media and its impact on how we view beauty, health, etc. If you have girls, if you work with girls, if you are a girl or woman yourself (!), if you live with a girl or are married to one, I would encourage you to have conversations about what you are noticing and seeing in the media about girls, women, bodies and beauty. There are so many negative and confusing messages out there, and by being mindful of what we see and hear, I think we are able to diffuse some of them so that we don't absorb them in the same way. I think at this point, its impossible to be impervious to all of the media's messages (because there are just so many!), but I think if we can take a pro-active stance and do our best to call out inconsistencies, then we're doing something!!

Take time today to think about how you might raise awareness about issues that face girls, no matter how big or small! Happy Day of the Girl! :)

Pica

In the news recently, there has been some talk about an eating disorder that we don't hear too much about... Pica (pronounced- pie-kah). According to recent statistics, hospitalizations for Pica have doubled in the last decade. What is Pica?? The central feature of this eating disorder is ingesting non-edible substances. For example- paper, dirt, bugs, clay, paint, chalk, etc. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used to make psychological diagnoses, defines Pica in the following ways:

• Persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for a period of at least 1 month.
• The eating of nonnutritive substances is inappropriate to the developmental level.
• The eating behavior is not part of a culturally sanctioned practice.
• If the eating behavior occurs exclusively during the course of another mental disorder, it is sufficiently severe to warrant independent clinical attention.

OK- so let's break that down... If these behaviors with non-food have been going on for a month or more, if this is not related to a cultural practice, and the behaviors are not age appropriate and is not a result of another disorder, then ! Generally speaking, a child between the ages of 18-24 months eats (or tries to eat) non-edible things, and that does not indicate the presence of Pica. It is most common in children, however, as the age of onset is infancy. It can persist through adolescence and adulthood. Interestingly enough, statistics show that 31% of Pica cases among children in 2009 were in children with autism. 

For more on Pica, follow this link.

Living an Exceptional Life

It seems fitting on an almost fall-ish Monday to write about something positive and inspiring- right?! I got an email about a month ago from someone who had been inspired by an article that she shared with me, and I thought this would be a good time to share it! The article that she sent me was entitled '21 Simple Ways to Live an Exceptional Life.' Many of the things on this list are what I would describe as forms of self-care... ways to take care of yourself and maintain your personal health (emotional, physical, spiritual). For more on self-care, follow this link.


Rather than list all 21, or send you directly to the link without a mention of particulars, I thought I would highlight my favorites from the list, which was written by Henri Junttila- for a complete listing of all 21, follow this link.

• Face Your Fears.
• Everyone has things that they are afraid of. The truth of the matter is that when you face your fears, they melt away. What happens is that you realize that your fears are nowhere near as scary as you make them out to be. So face your fears, and go after what you truly want, because that is what you deserve.
• Be Kind.
• One of the first things you want to do in order to live an exceptional life is to be kind. Being kind is nothing special, yet at the same time it is. It can be smiling at people in your neighborhood, or helping a friend out. Treat people as you would like to be treated.
• Be Yourself.
• Almost everyone has been taught that being yourself is not enough. But you may also have realized that you cannot not be yourself, because that is what you are and who you are. You are on this blue planet of ours for a reason, and the only way you can do what you were meant to do is by being yourself.
• Kill perfectionism.
• Perfectionism has killed many dreams; don't let it kill yours. You've probably learned that making mistakes is bad, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It isn't until you fail and make mistakes that you begin learning what works and what doesn't.
• Enjoy Life.

• Above all else, remember to enjoy life and smell the roses. When you walk, remember to breathe deeply and be grateful for what you already have. You can always want more, but stop and appreciate what you already have, because if you don't do it now, when will you?

There is no such thing as a dumb question... Right? How many times have you heard that before? I think nearly every teacher, professor, boss, authority of some kind that I have ever had has uttered this phrase at some point or another. I think until about 10 minutes ago, when I read this article, I believed it :-)

Now, let me explain. The Miss Universe pageant was apparently on TV this past Monday night. The girl who won (Miss Angola) was asked this question during her final interview- "If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one would it be and why?" She handled the question extremely well, stating that she wouldn't change a thing, that she was satisfied with how God created her, and that she felt that she was beautiful inside and out. But- of all places to be asked to talk about something you would want to change about your looks (not to mention the fact that this is a pretty unfair question to be asked by anyone at anytime-- why must we want to change?) People often say that pageants are not all about beauty and looks, but with a question like this, it seems to perpetuate this ideal. This question that was asked is what I might call the exception to the "no questions are dumb" rule. 


This article, "The Dumbest Question in the Universe" written by Jessica Ravitz, is definitely worth a read. It is dead-on, and really addresses some important points. You can check it out here.

Do you ever have moments, hours, days that shake you out of your daily routine and remind you what it is that really matters in this life? I had one of those days yesterday. A friend of mine lost her boyfriend unexpectedly yesterday morning- she received a phone call and in a matter of a few moments, her life changed significantly. What a heartbreaking event-- words aren't capable of expressing the kind of pain that she is in. 


I couldn't help but be reminded of the brevity of life. As cliche as it sounds, life is truly precious. It's so easy to get stressed out by small details- even big important details, to take advantage of how amazing the people in our lives are, or to forget what life is really all about. For me, I am reminded that my plans, my stress, my goals, etc. pale to the fact that I woke up this morning, and I have a strong faith, family and loved ones, which are many things to be thankful for. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily habits and pace of life that sometimes we forget to stop and remember how lucky we are to be alive, and how lucky we are to have all that we have.


You don't need to know my friend's name to pray for her- she could use your thoughts and prayers. Maybe today provides a moment for you to step back, take a breath and appreciate the life that has been given to you. I feel like I was seeing things through new eyes as I appreciated each breath today.


I posted this quote on gratitude not too long ago on my blog, but I thought I would post it again- it's great. And for those of you dealing with extremely painful circumstances and feelings, practicing gratitude doesn't mean ignoring your feelings or passing over your grief. 


Enjoy the quote below, and be thankful today.