There’s always pressure. Sometimes it’s the pressure to succeed in school, pressure to have certain things and the pressure to be “skinny.” This pressure can come from your peers, parents, even yourself.
Molly Rosales, senior knows this constant pressure from personal experience. Rosales says that if she could change something about herself she would lose 10 pounds and have a flat belly.
“I think people want to change things about themselves because no matter how self confident someone is they can always find something wrong,” Rosales said.
One event that really affects Rosales and the way she thinks of herself is around homecoming time. This year, a guy at her work took a picture of her from the dance and zoomed in, then asked his co-workers if she looked pregnant.
“No one ever made comments like this until I got into high school,” Rosales said.
Although Rosales may act like peoples words don’t hurt, they do and she takes them to heart.
She believes that people start to judge more in the last year of middle school and into the beginning of high school rather than in elementary school.
“I think people start to judge in eighth grade, probably because that’s when people hit puberty and girls start wearing makeup, and people start dating and such,” Rosales said.
This can be seen in a study called “Comfortable: 50 people, one question” was conducted by an organization called the Jubilee project. Their mission is to create documentaries that increase awareness and inspire action through different stories.
In this video they ask adults and kids what they would change about themselves if they could. The adults chose, without hesitation, something referring to how they look, like being taller or having a smaller forehead. Unlike the kids who wished they could have superpowers or have cheetah legs to run fast.
This project proves that as we age our self-confidence changes, sometimes not for the better.
“I feel insecure often, sometimes just seeing what I look like in the mirror or when I try on clothes, or when I can’t fit into the jeans I wore freshman year,” Rosales said.
Rosales’ mom is often tough on her and pushes her to go to the gym with her or eat better.
“She puts pressure on me to eat healthy and when I want McDonalds, she’s like ‘I don’t want you to (expletive) about it later’,” Rosales said.
Although Rosales’ mom is hard on her, she is still her role model. She looks up to her for what she has accomplished so far in her life by herself. But her mom is not the only one who adds that constant pressure to look a certain way, guys tend to make her feel even more insecure.
Rosales said, “They all have an image of the ‘perfect girl’ and that’s it.”
Rosales believes one of the main reasons for a girl feeling insecure is because of a guy.
“Especially single girls, a lot of people are in a relationship now a day and if not, most people are looking for one and if a girl doesn’t meet up to a certain standard with a guy they will friend zone them,” Rosales said.
Although she believes that looks have a lot to do with if a guy is interested she does not think guys make girls feel insecure on purpose.
“If I’m talking to a guy and I say what do you look for in a girl the first things are always about looks, like “cute, pretty, nice body” then into personality stuff,” Rosales said.
Rosales believes it can go both ways, girls can make guys feel insecure as well.
She said, “Wanting a guy a certain height, with six packs and a great nice attitude but can’t be a player.”
On the other hand Rosales has good days, where she feels good about herself.
“Taking selfies, going tanning, hanging out with my friends or getting all dolled up is when I feel the best,” Rosales said.
But when Rosales’ thoughts get the best of her these things really help get these thoughts out of her head.
There are a few ways that she thinks can have an effect on the way that people think of themselves. One of the ways to prevent any self-criticism is to try and stay off of social media.
“Without social media people wouldn’t have to be so worried about what everyone else is thinking, not even about them but their opinions on how body image should be,” Rosales said.
Staying off social media can never hurt, but also just talking with an adult that you trust really helps Rosales when she’s feeling self-conscious.
Rosales said, “Just try and feel comfortable with yourself, its not easy all the time, but when it happens its one of the greatest feelings in the world.”