Don't let a blog ruin your self-esteem

For those who have a Tumblr blog, we all see the skinny girls with thigh gaps or clothes draping their bodies perfectly. A lot of us strive to look like that. To have our collar bones popping out and our thighs not touch. Tumblr is surrounded by those pictures but is that a good thing? I don’t think so. As women, we need to surround ourselves with positive people and thoughts in our life. We use Tumblr to vent our problems and reblog pictures of places we want to travel, the food we want to eat, the clothes we want to buy, etc. There is a fine line between pictures we reblog because we want to be healthy and pictures we look at to obsess over how we don’t look like the size zero model.  So the real question is: can Tumblr end up hurting us more than helping us?
    Girls can create blogs to obsess over and strive to look a certain way. I get it that girls can be healthy and skinny. I used to be that girl. Whose bones would stick out yet I would eat anything and everything and not gain a pound. I couldn’t help it. I hit 100 pounds when I was a freshman in high school. That really isn’t common. Now I eat something and I gain a few pounds but I know if I want to lose weight I need to go to the gym and stop eating Doritos (which is hard because they are so dang good). I understand that girls today want to be healthy and lose weight, but obsessing over a picture they found on Tumblr is not the healthy way. Do not strive to be stick thin and unhealthy. If you want to lose weight all you need to do is work out and eat right. Train your mind that you can do anything. Yes, it will take time, but it will be well worth it in the end. Starving yourself and throwing up after eating can really mess up your body and mind. You will end up losing yourself to being skinny and not being healthy. A healthy woman glows and is happy. Be that person. 
    The reason why I am writing about this, even though I’m the fashion blogger, is because fashion is the reason why girls are doing this in the first place. They want to have sweaters hang off their body and fit into size zero jeans. The high fashion world is known for using skinny models in advertisements and shows. Women pay attention to that and think they should look like that. Especially when companies sell shirts that say “eat less.” Girls think that because a top brand is selling a shirt that says something so degrading, they want to buy it and live that certain lifestyle. 
    Look at Demi Lovato for instance. The glamour and celebrity lifestyle got her into rehab for body issues. Now, look at how strong she is. Is she stick thin? No. Is she gorgeous and curvy? Yes. Demi has become a “warrior” and not backed down. She talks about how easy it can be to relapse, but she knows that she is stronger than that. She is a great role model for young women and shows them that every girl out there is beautiful. She is right. We all have insecurities but don’t let someone tell you that you aren’t beautiful. Who cares what people think? Wear whatever clothes you want and rock your style. In the wise words that all of us at Dream on Youth believe in, “do you.”

Just Believe,
Courtney