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While I have the utmost respect when someone creates their own stardom and successes, I can’t help but cringe when it can so negatively impact thousands and thousands of people.  1.1 million followers are lured to Arielle Charnas’s Instagram account. There is no question that her style blog, Something Navy, offers helpful information, direction, and advice when it comes to clothing and fashion. But, in a time where young girls are struggling emotionally and physically by constantly comparing themselves to others on social media, Charnas does no favors. In our world of social media, we validate our worth based on how many people follow us,Read More →

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I am guilty of it, and I’ll be the first to admit it. I take a hundred different shots, delete the unsharable ones, adjust the angles, assess, edit, re-take, and then if I somehow was able to get that one perfect picture, I finally share to my newsfeed. Social media has become a place where we post and share what we deem to be “shareable” pictures and videos of our personal lives. And, while we all know that, we still question ourselves compared to others. My family traveled to Mexico for vacation just last week. As a tradition, we took family photographs by the beautiful,Read More →

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I will admit it. I love the show, The Bachelorette. My addiction to watching it started the first season in 2003 when the infamous Trista and Ryan found love on reality television. I felt somewhat personally connected to the show because at that time my academic advisor at Michigan State University for soccer (the office I spent the majority of my free time in just because I loved her company) was Trista’s first cousin. I have been hooked since. See, Trista and Ryan set the bar high. Since their season, post-show breakups have seemed to occur often, love has happened quickly, and faded even quicker,Read More →

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The internet age was just launching, and AOL was the leading network for online services. The first AOL program that I can remember was when I was in high school. It offered email, and a way to message people who were, also, logged in at the same time. The most impressive feature allowed us to add friends by their ‘screen name’ to accumulate an ongoing table called, “The Buddy List.” It all started then. “How many buddies do you have?” was a common question in conversation at the time. It was as if the one with the most ‘buddies’ was the best, most popular, andRead More →

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We had just received family pictures back from my cousin’s bar mitzvah. I had worn a black, satin gown with a white stripe across the chest. I remember feeling particularly beautiful that night. When my mom called for me to come look through the picture album, my eyes went straight to me. I was sickened by how fat I thought I appeared. It was at that moment I decided I needed to make changes, both with food and exercise.  One picture of myself. One angle. One moment. One conclusion. I determined I hated the way I looked, compared myself to others, and became motivated toRead More →

"But, you are all muscle!"

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“You have an athletic build,” is the phrase I have heard since my body began developing and puberty occurred. Prior to that point, I was a tiny, petite girl, always low in the charts in both height and weight. I suppose it was because I was too active to sit down and eat, or I was blessed with great genes. Whichever the reason, I never had to worry about my weight during my early childhood. It seemed my body began maturing and changing at the same time my social life became more elaborate and glamorous. It was the start of high school when I beganRead More →