Little Words With Big Meaning
It is Saturday night and you have just arrived at your friend’s dinner party.
In the sea of familiar faces, you notice a little girl around the age of seven, with bright blonde hair and a sweet face with big brown eyes.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see her?
“That is the most beautiful child I have ever seen,” could be one of the thoughts.
Normally, you proceed to express your thoughts about her by telling her she looks adorable.
She smiles and says thank you.
What message does this send to a seven-year-old girl? This comment plants in her subconscious the idea that the way she is viewed by people is dictated by her outside appearance.
This concept runs in her mind 24/7, as the subconscious does not sleep and it becomes an inner voice telling her that looks hold a level of importance that everyone seems to know about, except her.
A small comment like this is a match that sets up the TNT to explode and dictate the way she observes the world and all the people around her.
So what can we do? We should reflect on the way we talk to young girls.
We must prepare our girls with the weapons that will help them become self‐empowered and also through their own effort create a beautiful mind.
Nourishing their minds will change the way they view themselves and help create a more positive outlook.
If young girls think that they must meet a specific kind of appearance like the ones portrayed on the cover of magazines, they will be seeking outer approval, instead of inner approval. Inner approval is key to learning how to love and convey passion.
Their passions will die down before they can even begin to truly explore them.
There will be nothing to dazzle their minds and the luminous sparkle that would be in their eyes when they talk about something they love, will disappear.
John Green, author of the book Looking for Alaska, wrote in the book, “they love their hair because they are not smart enough to love anything more interesting.”
I argue that it is difficult to discover and practice your talents when you are being bombarded with social expectations to look outwardly beautiful.
It is not that they are not smart enough to love something more interesting, but it is that they are taught to emphasize their outward looks to get overall approval.
Back at the dinner party, I would urge you to not talk to this little girl about her physical appearance, but to begin a conversation suitable for her age that respects her intelligence.
I would ask her about what she likes to read, what she thinks about different topics, or what she loves to do.
It is our moral duty to empower young minds, to talk to them in a manner that tells them: You are important, smart and your opinions and ideas matter.
