Stuart’s story is obviously from his perspective, but at TOK we know that we can all have something about our bodies or our appearance that we think about a lot growing up.
Stuart asked Team TOK to share some examples. The following are just a few of the things that played on our minds in our younger days.
Facial hair, body shape, weight, height, athleticism, eyebrows, gender, spots, disabilities…the list went on!
It can be very easy to see someone else and wish to look or be more like them.
Of course, we all know that’s not how bodies work. Yes, you can do things like eat healthily, exercise more or use cosmetics to look different.
But this can take time and effort and, even then, there are still certain parts of our appearance that are beyond our control.
It’s quite shocking to find out just how many young people dislike the way they look or wish they could look like someone else. Constantly striving for a different physical appearance or the characteristics of other people isn’t a healthy approach to life.
There is nothing wrong with being positively influenced by other people but being healthy and happy in your own skin, more content with who you are is definitely the way to go.
We think it’s important to recognise the things we cannot control and focus on what we can.
