What's New

Welcome new subscribers

Updates...

• I have been writing a column for the Savannah Morning News, and have posted several new columns on a variety of subjects - 'Finding the Right Hair Colour', 'Hiding the Winter Bulge'...all at the following link.
• The Distance Consultation is about to transition to a complete Internet solution - you can complete the questionnaire on-line now as well as pay-on-line.
• New  Blog - I have just launched a Blog so that I can post small details when I see them - recommended clothing lines, image faux-pas's and best buys. You can also Rss it or add it it your 'My Yahoo' or 'My google'.
  

This last Saturday, I presented to 100 girls a new seminar I had developed to help teenagers learn about style and improve their self-esteem.  One teenager approached me afterwards to ask me what she could do about her freckles.  She wanted to know how she could get rid of them. So, I asked her why did she want to? It seems she had been teased about them at school, to the extent that it was no longer a question of whether she liked them or not,or that they may be one of her assets, but a question of how to get rid of them! Research from the Dove Campaign revealed that 92% of girls between 12-15 want to change something about their appearance.  It is sad to see that girls at such a young age are unhappy with how they look.  But we adults can help to change that. If you know a teenage girl, please reinforce her positive traits, please reassure her that she has her own special qualities and please compliment her whenever possible. Because, it seems that school environments don't necessarily offer that all the time, neither the media in how it depicts or projects the ideal 'woman'. 

The illusion of how women or girls really look needs to be broken.  Seeing a TV report on Angelina Jolie a few days ago remarking on how she looked great with no make-up, then seeing pictures on the Internet of her poor skin problem makes you question what is real or not. Airbrushing and clever make-up certainly confuses us. But as adults, we have the common sense and life experience to read between the lines. A teenager, on the other hand, is more likely to just believe what she sees and reads, and the pressure begins.

I have also been reading the book 'Pledged', an inside story of the US Sorority system written by an undercover journalist.  Whilst being in a sorority may be a positive experience, the journalist also exposes an environment where girls are forced to conform, that feel the pressure to look a certain way - which could include developing eating disorders to achieve this end, and are pressured to go along with what the sorority's demands, alienating outside friends, family and boyfriends along the way. Girls are forced to put aside their own self-image to conform to an image set by the Sorority.  They often dress in the same clothes, dye their hair all the same, and date 'chosen' boyfriends. The stories in the book make films like 'Animal House' appear non-fictional. How can these women portray themselves in such a negative way? Or give up their identity for a group identity?  It makes you wonder!

So, that is the thought of the month - how to value your own individuality and treasure your unique assets.  And of those around you. I believe it is our individuality that adds to society and bringing our qualities to a group is what makes it work, rather than all being the same.  Read Sarah's article on Teen Esteem.

Feel free to pass on this newsletter to your friends, and let them know about the Distance Consultation. Thank you!