Be Strong... Stay Strong!

How hard it is in this day and age to be just that... STRONG! Especially for girls. Of course I relate more to girls, since I'm a "girl" (hopefully wiser since I'm "older" now), I have two daughters and I teach only girls. I think it is hard, even today, to stay true to ourselves, to our values and beliefs, and not succumb to all the temptations out there; especially when girls feel the great need to "please" others and in doing so, many times they compromise their true feelings.

It is hard to remain strong when everyone around us is telling us to do something that is really against our better judgment - even though we know deep inside it is the wrong thing to do - and we prefer to pretend that it really isn't because "everyone is doing it." All we can really do as parents, teachers, friends, is to give advise and a good example (at least the best possible example we can give); and remind our daughters, students, and friends that it's essential to work on our self-esteem and to learn to believe in ourselves. Deep inside we know what's right and what's good for us; but so many times we choose not to do what our inner voice tells us for fear of not being accepted. So many times we prefer to please others and get attention (even if it's negative attention); instead of doing what we know is right, pleasing ourselves and our core values and morals.

Yes, being STRONG is hard. My only hope is that you learn to develop and cultivate enough life skills and principles to empower you and who you really are, and help you feel better about yourself because you remained strong and whole; because you didn't compromise your "authentic" self. Of course, we all make mistakes... and then, all we can do is learn from them and go on; remaining strong and committed to the improvement of ourselves - with optimism and a positive attitude, valuing our life and valuing LIFE in general.