music and having the time of their lives. How could I not want that?
At age eight I discovered what being a girl was all about. I started to believe that teenage girl life revolved around makeup, clothes and boys; but mostly clothes.
I'm sure you've picked up on the same vibe. When did you first get the memo? Was it from your favorite collection of chick flicks, a Disney show you watched when you were young, or from the endless string of beauty advertisements on TV?
It's a tempting message. The models on magazine covers an
d the T.V. screen sure look like they're enjoying themselves.
The life of the rich and famous is obviously delicious. To be pampered and primped with such glam and girliness all the time looks like a fairytale dream. Surely that's what being a girl is all about!
The life of the rich and famous is obviously delicious. To be pampered and primped with such glam and girliness all the time looks like a fairytale dream. Surely that's what being a girl is all about!
I quickly discovered that the high fashion, electrified glam world of my favorite starlets wasn't at all attainable. I chased it, but could never measure up. The more I shopped, the worse I felt.
Can you relate? As girls, we have filled our shopping bags with all sorts of goodies, yet none of these things last or make us consistently happy. We buy T-shirts that get sweat stains, jeans get grass stains, and our shoes are ruined with mud from the rain.
Can you relate? As girls, we have filled our shopping bags with all sorts of goodies, yet none of these things last or make us consistently happy. We buy T-shirts that get sweat stains, jeans get grass stains, and our shoes are ruined with mud from the rain.
It's a depressing thought, but all these items which we consume, eventually wither away. We're forever finding that what we bought yesterday is so...yesterday. The most devastating realization is that feeling that hits you when the shopping trip is over. You've tried on your clothes, modeled them for Instagram, and then...just like that...it's over.
Goodbye to the rush; the thrill of having new things. Now you have no money, and although you have a closet full of clothes, you still don't have enough. You've got nothing to wear! Why do we feel like this? Why that constant desire to have more? Why do we crave something that ten thousand pairs of shoes can never satisfy?
Glitz & Glam
Here's a girl who loves glitter. She adores getting her nails done and having a little bit of glam in her life! Hit recording artist and former Disney star, Demi Lovato, knows what it's like to have the mall as her closet! She has been blessed with many material items and amazing experiences. Demi filmed two movies with the Jonas Brothers, starred on her own T.V. show, went on tour with David Archeleta, and had an amazingly successful career. She has dated swoon-worthy movie stars, and I think it's safe to assume that she probably has like a billion pairs of shoes.
Yet, with a closet that might have looked like Mia's closet in Princess Diaries 2, Demi still wasn't satisfied with her life. Behind all the glitz and glam, there lived a girl who hated herself. She struggled with an eating disorder and self-destructive activities. Though she appeared to be living the dream, she was caught up in a terrible nightmare.
When I first learned of Demi's story, my jaw dropped. How could a girl who had so much stuff feel like she had nothing? She could own every pair of wedge heels ever made! She could afford to wear all things cute and have any guy she liked! Yet, somewhere, beneath it all, she was miserable.
It's all-too-easy to paste on a smile, play the part of perfection, and quietly crumble to pieces.
Do you ever feel like Demi? Maybe you've struggled with depression or anxiety attacks. So many of us feel unloved, unwanted and confused. With a closet full of clothes, surrounded by a sea of friends, yet so totally alone. Have you ever starved yourself to feel beautiful, done something you deeply regret with your boyfriend, or cut your wrists in bitter pain? So many of us walk around carrying invisible burdens that weigh on our hearts like cement bricks, brought on by the pain and scars of yesterday ...yet we tell no one.
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