Self-Image Top Teen Girls' Concerns - Essay Example

 Self esteem or self-awareness is a vital part of an individual’s upbringing and his or her ever-changing life. One should make all out efforts to understand his or her own self as well as study the strengths and weaknesses that he or she has to offer to the career that they are employed in or the work they are motivated towards for the sake of accomplishment and that too with success and flying colors. Indeed self-awareness plays a huge role in building the much needed confidence that a man looks don upon himself in any field of life, be it in sports ground or in a cabin of an office. One has to continuously learn and ponder through the thick and thins of life and adjust one self accordingly so as to understand his or her limitations with respect to those very changes and phases of life. Self-awareness is a unique facet of a man’s life and must therefore be considered whenever some major action is being undertaken in life, or for that matter even a minor one. Self esteem has also got a pivotal role in chalking out one’s usage of his or her emotions in crunch and difficult situations as well as the reactions that are involved in the aftermath of some big tragedy that might take place in a person’s life from time to time. The same could be equally true for his or her attaining success in an arena of life, which are also there along with the moments of grief and sorrow. A child's level of self esteem literally impacts every area of his or her life which for that matter might include health, his or her ability to learn, execute different behaviors as well as understand the importance of having jointed relationships, not only with the family members but also with friends and acquaintances. Children and young people who have a high level of self-esteem and self-confidence respond well to others and are surely at a benefit in every field of life, whether it is concerned with the family or cohort relationships like school, sports or organizational activities. Children with a high level of self-esteem are also more likely to lead happy and creative lives whereby they develop a positive attitude as well as an innate drive for self-confidence that will eventually guarantee them the success they desire for in their personal lives as well as in their upcoming careers. If, for instance there is a child having a clear learning difference gets encouragement that is added with a high level of self-esteem, he will in his coming years not only have the courage to stand moments of frustration but also have more patience as well as engage in less self-destructive behaviors. (Zimmerman, 1997) Also peer pressure is one of the significant reasons as to why students adopt the best looks and the most expensive clothing and make-up in order to outsmart the other colleagues present within their social circles. This indeed is a magnanimous fight which has been going on for a number of years now. Teens with learning differences and a high level of self-esteem are healthier; tend to live less lonely as well as are less impulsive and focus more on their aims and objectives. As a result of the same, this child's self-confidence usually improves and with that his academic achievements too. The same also applies for a person who is an introvert by nature and is leading a learning style which could be easily termed as somewhat pragmatist with his political skills bracketed as being that of a wise owl. For such a human, self-confidence is a trait that easily has an effect on both the occupation that the students select and their success, which follows in his life and the career that has been adopted by him. Coming back to students, the ones who feel self-confident would eventually go for an occupation, which is focused more towards their interests as well as skill, set and will not limit their options because of the fear of failure. Once he is in an occupation, he will be willing to take reasonable risks and will not be defeated or discouraged by small hindrances. One of the major purposes of life career preparation is to help an individual realize the important role that self-confidence plays in occupational success, as well as to encourage him to undertake activities, which will ultimately build his own self-confidence in the long run. There was a time when cosmetic surgery was a privilege reserved for Hollywood stars and other A-listers. After that the procedures used to be the exclusive resort of wealthy women who wanted to look younger, and in many cases, bigger. In fact, stories of plastic surgery disasters and addictions, “surgery sagas” as they have come to be know, have become a popular feature in all tabloids for the last few years. Thanks to modern technology, coupled with awareness born from exposure, the trend has penetrated nearly every country and more and more people are going under the knife in an effort to look better. In fact, the trend is also growing popular among youngsters here day by day. (Cash, 2002) Cosmetic procedures such as breast implants, liposuction and the like are now being bestowed by affluent parents as graduation or birthday gifts for their adolescent daughters. Society places a heavy weight on looks, especially on females' looks. Given the choice, most people would choose to be beautiful. It used to seem like this choice was more of a fairy tale than a reality. But the stigma that was once attached to plastic surgery years ago has almost completely disappeared. And plastic surgeons have more techniques and procedures at their disposal than ever before. Therefore, it suddenly seems that the choice between beauty and beast is a very real one-and a younger audience is now reaping the benefits. Teen body image issues have attained a larger than life persona – all this seemed to be missing in the past. Similarly body image issues have come about due to the problems associated with teens themselves. They just cannot get over with the belief that they are out of shape and hence become out of mind nonetheless. The media in the form of television and magazines etc provides role models that teach women to value beauty and thinness over strength of character. While men are influenced by their role models to succeed academically and excel in all areas, we are expected to maintain a beautiful appearance, i.e. a thin, sexy body. Many of our role models are not only weak and thin – essentially, they lose their personalities and become objects and images for the pleasure of others. Used to be, one could turn on the television and spend a pleasant hour watching Friends, but so is not the case any more. (Billups, 1999) The enormous popularity of reality TV shows such as "Extreme Makeover", "The Swan" and MTV's "I Want a Famous Face," as well as an explosion of websites that extol the virtues of cosmetic medicine, has fueled the desire of adolescent girls to alter their bodies permanently, and they are finding more surgeons willing to oblige them. Some teens are even undergoing multiple operations, acquiring smaller noses and bigger breasts at the same time. There is no doubt that plastic surgery can boost self-esteem. But there are risks involved, both mentally and physically, that can potentially cause more damage than good. The fact is that cosmetic surgery can be dangerous to health. Any surgery, for that matter, has its share of risks and many say that people shouldn't go under the knife unless they need to. But plastic surgery can have special risks because foreign material is often inserted into the body. In the case of breast enlargements, for example, the body may reject the implant, which can cause a person's physical and mental health to deteriorate. What the young lot does not seem to understand is that it is not just about having money to spare. Looks do not directly translate into feelings. If they did, all beautiful people would be happy. While having plastic surgery can help you feel better about yourself during the awkward teenage stage, it can have reverse effects in your adult life. Experts opine that only a well grounded, confident individual with a strong family support group and realistic expectations will have a good result from surgery, regardless of how well the surgery was technically performed. Those who are truly unhappy will always find some aspect of their appearance to criticize. (Fisher, 1986) Research has been pretty evident in suggesting that self esteem is made up of a number of components, which must be addressed to in an attempt to improve the self-awareness of children who have been having learning disabilities. They deal with both general self-awareness and awareness that is related quite precisely with the learning disability. More often than not, the development of self esteem has focused almost completely on the academic performance, which is present at schools. However, in order to gain the highest level of self-awareness and acceptance, an individual should comprehend his or her strengths, weaknesses, special talents, desires, fears, and beliefs in a number of areas notwithstanding. Self esteem allows one to fathom his or her weaknesses as well as strengths in a proper manner, one that also tells him or her what needs to be done to change the shift of tide from their problems to a stance which is more suited to being positive than anything else. Apart from recognizing the strengths, weaknesses, and special talents, successful adults with learning disabilities also find jobs that provide the best fit with their abilities and skill set. For instance, an individual with severe reading problems, but outstanding skills in woodworking might just find for himself a successful career in cabinet making rather than as a copy editor or a newspaper journalist for that matter. A person with math shortfalls but who has god prowess with the writing abilities might run away from a career in accounting but still can see a future in the field of journalism. One’s career is like a journey. When one looks over his shoulder, he can see where he has been. However, where one is leading towards may be less clear or well defined. The future is in front of us, and our success and happiness will be strongly influenced by the quality of the career decisions we make. Therefore, self-awareness in the world of today is a must for understand one self, which is so very necessary in the times of today. Hence self esteem holds the key for proper development of a teenager into an adult of the coming times with the grooming starting at a pretty young age. Thus maturity of one such individual comes from a very young age as compared to him being an adult and still not getting used to the hang of things at the best of times. Issues related with self esteem need to be resolved at a pretty early age and no hindrances should be allowed because it is of utmost importance to impart proper care and education, not to forget raising the esteem levels within a kid or a teenager for that matter from a very young age. Proper guidance and counseling hold the key for resolving these disputes and matters related with self esteem and thus the same need to be provided by the guardians and parents of the kids as well as teenagers from a very young age, before they even start to run on their feet. This is important as these are impressionable minds and can grasp information, without thinking whether it is of their use or not from such an age. All said and done, teen image issues and self-esteem talks only come to the fore when they are thought about more, discussed all this while and made an issue out of nowhere. The world really needs to think more than it is doing at the very moment. References Billups, Andrea. (1999). Sex, Self-Image Top Teen Girls' Concerns: Study Finds They Want Information. The Washington Times Cash, Thomas F. (2002). Body Image: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice. Guilford Press Fisher, Seymour. (1986). Development and Structure of the Body Image - Vol. 2. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Zimmerman, Jill. (1997). An Image to Heal. The Humanist, Vol. 57 Word Count: 2,013 Read More