Seventeen, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan: what do these magazines all have in common? They fill up grocery store shelves, mailboxes, and are held in vulnerable girls’ hands. All of the stories are the same with the key focus on the word “better.” Each magazine insists that if one would just read this article, they would be on their way to flawless hair, skin, and a better body in just a few weeks. Ironically, the other headline beside these claims say “how to be 100% confident in your body.”

According to statistics compiled by The Heart of Leadership Organization, 7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough in some shape or form. Ninety-two percent would like to change something about themselves with weight being the biggest complaint. By age thirteen, 56% of girls are unhappy in their appearance and 78% are by the time of seventeen. Studies have also shown that the average age a girl starts dieting is 9-years-old.

Think of that- nine years old and more concerned what a scale reads than the number of dolls they own or how many Disney movies they’ve seen. Why are children and teenagers who are supposed to be living the best years of their lives carrying around such heavy burdens of insecurity?

The media’s emphasis on looking attractive is an epidemic. There are campaigns by companies like Dove that are trying to change this; honestly, it’s hard to erase years of what a girl has been taught. After all,  it has taken 57 years to finally make Barbie dolls that are diverse.

The beauty industry makes a gross profit of 56 billion dollars per year, which doesn’t come as a surprise. One tube of mascara alone costs a girl up to $12 and that doesn’t begin to cover foundation, eye shadow, eyeliner, blush, primer, lip-gloss, and every other product needed to look “beautiful.”

Magazines, commercials, and books demand a girl’s sole worth comes from her appearance and defines her in numbers- whether it be chest size, waist measurements, or the number on a scale. It teaches the world that a fragile piece of glass known as a mirror is how to determine if one is valuable or not.

The media will do whatever it can to bring in money. It doesn’t pay attention to the fact that 1 in 4 girls suffer from an eating disorder or all the other problems associated with low self-esteem. But, when is it ever okay to make a girl feel so insignificant to the point of starving herself? When will the writers of magazines and people behind flawless Instagram accounts wake up to the fact that not one person alive can achieve perfection?

People, no matter what age, should not feel ashamed or any less important when they gain a pound, wake up with a pimple, or can’t tame a flyaway. News flash- everyone is human!

There is no way to ignore the headlines and articles the media puts out. But, there is a way to reverse and prevent the damage done by falling into the vicious trap of basing worth on appearance.

Let one’s voice be louder.

Girls need to rise above the belief that all they’re meant to be in life is pretty. Pretty is merely a word that is far too sought after. Beauty does not come from outward appearance, but from inside. It’s been said a million times, but as alarming statistics keep rising, girls need to hear it and believe it more than ever.

Every person has something that makes her worth knowing and loving. Girls have brilliant minds, brave hearts, and ideas that nobody else has. Each girl needs to celebrate their uniqueness instead of conforming to the disgusting standards. Imagine if teenagers spent as much time volunteering, studying and working in school, or having meaningful conversations as they do looking in the mirror. It would change a lot of things.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to feel good enough. There is a lot wrong when girls believe they aren’t already. The media lies. Speak the truth.

“People often say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I say the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.” -Salma Hayek