This is a great place to start. How many people hate what they look like, you think you're not worth anything or nobody likes you, check this place out!

 

Loving yourself

          Love is a big word, and before we can love others we must learn to love ourselves. Here are 5 things to do everyday for a week to boost your confidence and how much you love yourself:

1. The next time you look in the mirror, say something positive about yourself

2. Write down ten things you like about yourself and read the list everyday

3. Look after yourself… pamper yourself with a manicure or a hot bubble bath 
(or an adequate size chocolate? – Menstralii)

4. Write down 2 things you don’t like about yourself and work this week on improving them

5. Smile, smile and more smile! It can only do you good.

 

Low Self Esteem

          This is a common problem amounts teenagers. Do you feel depressed, useless and you rate yourself lower than low? You feel that you are worthless, of no value to anyone; that you cannot do anything right, will never amount to anything; and that you are not loved?

          This type of attitude is destructive, not only to your personal life but also to those of your friends and family. It affects your social life in great amounts

          You are not worthless! You do have definite value! Why would you be here then? You’re trying to find out what’s wrong with yourself, which means that you do care. Trust me when I say that everyone on this (weird) earth is here for a reason. It may not be clear now but just give it some time.

          Think for just a minute of how you value your new skate board, the large silver earrings you bought last week or that new cell phone you saved a whole year to buy. Just consider the amount that you have spent on it. If you value the item more than it’s worth, you treat it with care. Just like this item, you to have a value and you should treat yourself with the same amount of care as you treat your belongings. Sometimes low self esteem is not just caused by yourself and your consistency in putting yourself down. People and peers who pressurize and devalue you and your abilities can also cause it.

          Here is a story that a teenager has shared with us:

“ Last year I started a t a new school, I was very exited, it was in a new country and it was also my first time boarding. I arrived at school and although I missed my parents very much I was quite happy in the first couple of weeks. By the time the first month was over I had fluctuated in my work and my self-esteem was lower than dirt and I had no friends. People were spreading rumors about me. Saying I am fat, ugly and that I had no morals or self worth. I couldn’t believe what a bad reputation I had. I had never ever portrayed that sort of image, I was always polite and I always made sure I stayed out of trouble. I thought I was a bit of a “goodie too shoes”. I was doing my usual study session in the library one day when I heard people talking about me. “Everyone believes those rumors I spread, you know about Amy Cambell!”, one of the voices said.  “Yes, I know you made her sound like such a slot. That’s wicked man, really cool!” The other replied.

I instantly knew who they were and then I knew I had to prove all those rumors wrong. I spoke to my school psychologist and she gave me advice on how to deal with things. It’s now a year later and I’m the happiest and the nicest teen in the school, and as for those two boys, all they accomplished by their childish attitudes was to make them selves look worse than they could ever imagine. People have now realized how heartless their actions were and how low their own self esteem is.”  
Amy 17

Dreams

          We all have had some are weird and wonderful dreams in the past. Here is a teenagers view on dreams!

At night my mind…

Its easy, in the ‘real world’, to make sense of things around you. The sun is shining, you know it’s a new day and you know its so many minutes past the hour. You’re sure of what you do and what you say, you mostly have control over what happens. There is nothing to hide, there is nothing mysterious, and after all, nothing can hide in dark corners if the sun is glaring into all of them.

As the sun starts to go down, logic seems to vanish, and in that magic hour of dusk, our minds adjust from day to night. For you cannot go living sunshine, in the mystery of the night.

After our “metamorphosis,” we settle into the hours of twilight, although ‘settle’ isn’t really an appropriate word… the darkness crawls with fantasies that seem to come with the great black spirit and her huge dark wings as she enfolds the world in a gentle embrace. We have no control over what we know and what we imagine; they seem to bind into one, until we cannot tell the difference between the two.

When we fall into fathoms of sleep, I don’t think we know how far we go, into simple human minds. They cannot take in the greatness of what we casually call sleep. It should not be referred to so lightly; it is the time when mind and imagination meet, in a conference of wild fantasies, memories from far and nightmarish frenzies.  We cannot always recall what ‘dreams’ we dreamt; what wonderful pictures and stories, ideas and plans can we not see? (But do remember they are only dreams). To mind of prose, night is but a time when the sun goes down, the world gets dark and we go to sleep and this is one view, but rather practical.

For us who like to imagine lets look a little deeper, try to understand what goes on around us when the real world dissolves. All sense disappears and our minds take on a life of their own. Only moonlight shines into the corners and our imaginations take hold. Then out come the demons, the angels and the cupids, our fantasies and fancies that reign us during the night.
Lesley King 15 

          I really hope that some of this information above managed to touch your heart. I suggest that you go to a place that you feel safe and relaxed in and just think. If you want to you may write down everything you think, but do something you prefer. Take deep breaths and really think what you want your life to be and what you want to do with it. Try to think of as many positive things about your life. If you can't keep those negatives out then take them front-on! Battle them and find ways to fix them. Remember that wherever you are, there are always people close-by that will listen to your problems and try and help! "Until next time, take care of yourself and each other." That sums this article up nicely doesn't it?

Cat