Reflection 8

My mother and father always taught me to love myself, no matter what anyone had to say. People are always going to have something negative to say about you. Whether it’s about your skin color, religion, social class, sexuality and gender. They both showed me the beauty and the cruelty of this world. Growing up, I went to Private school all my life. That doesn’t for one second mean that my family was wealthy. When I turned 4, my father was arrested and taken to jail. He was there for 8 years. They took everything we had. We were forced to move back into my grandparent’s house because my mother didn’t have the means to support us alone. She worked 3 jobs at one point, just so we could stay in school. Kids would sometimes make fun of me because I didn’t have the best of the best. I was just a young girl, so I really didn’t understand why money was so important or why because I was a girl, I was expected to have certain things. At this point, everyone was going through there puberty stage, but not me. So I wasn’t counted as one of the “girls”. I was always playing with the boys and being ostracized by the girls. The media tells people that if you have boobs and beautiful hair and all these fancy things then boys will flock to you. Not everyone grows and changes at the same time. Magazines showing skinny and “perfect” are making young girls want to grow up to fast. They try to act like them; dress like them and even change their whole outlook just to fit in. TV shows are showing over sexualized woman. Girls begin to think that if they want boys to notice them, they need to be sexy and flirty. They throw their childhoods down the drain and replace them with a fake lifestyle. Nowadays, it’s not shocking to hear about a 13 year old already having sex with multiple partners. When I was 13, I was still playing dolls and dress up with my friends. I look around me and I’m scared what my daughter or son will have to deal with in the future. I’m glad my parents taught me that “when it’s my time to grow and shine, the world will not turn and leave me behind.” There is a time and place for everything. Parents need to be more open with their children and let them know this as well. Without some control, situations like these can get worse in the time to come.