A lot of times, people may not know or feel like they are pretty or beautiful, even though everyone is beautiful in their own way. Negative messages about our bodies come from all directions in our society. Parents, friends, family, teachers, fashion industry, diet companies and the media put so much pressure on us to look a certain way. The media lies to us by saying there is only one type of body that is ok, and everyone should try to look like that.

The truth is there is no such thing as a “perfect” body. There is no way to look like the “ideal” bodies we see in the media. Some people feel like they have to change their appearances, even though they look fabulous the way they are! The images we see are there to make us all feel bad about our bodies so that we will buy the things the beauty and diet industries are trying to sell us. If they sold us the idea that health and beauty came in all different shapes and sizes, they wouldn’t make as much money!

By complimenting ourselves and one another on the things we love about our bodies and our personalities, we can begin to build a healthier body image.