Hair!

Today, my little sister got married. She was radiant, everything went extremely well, and even though there was some stress involved, all in all it was a beautiful celebration of family, friends, and love.

This was also the first wedding ceremony I have been to since Eric and I got married, and seeing Sylvee and Jack's love made me fall even more in love with my amazing husband!

However, there was something brought to my attention today that I think is very important. It involves being a girl in the midst of puberty and being a teenager, and also hair.

My hair is curly. That is an understatement. My hair is fine, but there is a lot of it. And if you just add some water, it turns into these teeny, tiny ringlets. A billion of them!

I love my hair. I love playing around with it, I love sproinging my curls. This love, however, is a very recent thing. It wasn't until I was about 17 or 18 when I realised that I love my hair. Up until then, I HATED it. LOATHED it.

Today, I found my 12 year old sister in distress about her hair. Her hair is fine like mine, and mostly straight but if you get it wet and add a little water it gets really wavy. Very cute. But, here she is, sitting in the bathroom, crying because she, like the millions of 12 year old girls before her, hates her hair.

Of course, this is about so, so, so much more than hair. This is about young women everywhere struggling to love themselves. This is about body image, self esteem. This is about giving these young girls the gift of confidence. Loving yourself means so much. Without first loving and accepting ourselves, we can't truly share our love for others. Without that good self image, we resort to things that are destructive. I was 12 when my eating disorder began, and unfortunately that is a very common time for that disorder to manifest itself.

Young women, and some young men, are dying because they can't figure out how to love themselves. They are dying because they think they are fat and ugly. And, it isn't much of a stretch to say that sometimes, they are dying because they hate their hair.

I challenge you all to find one thing about your physical appearance that you dislike, and figure out a way to accept it, and perhaps even admire it. No changing it, just accepting whatever it is exactly the way it is. And, if you are a parent of a young woman, I would encourage you to talk about body image with her. And, whenever possible, tell yourself, your daughter, or even a stranger, how much you love their hair.