A couple of weeks ago I watched the first episode of Saturday Night Live which was a tribute to the host, George Carlin who died on June 24, 2008. The show was actually titled, Saturday Night then in 1975.
Janis Ian, was one of the musical guests and she played her endearing song, “At Seventeen”. This is the story that many of us can relate to. (See the video below as Janis Ian explains the reason she wrote this song.)
Although it was from the 1970′s it holds true today even more so. The pressure that teens, tweens and now even younger children face about their looks invade their lives on a more constant basis than in the 70′s.
Television, movies, magazines, commercials, music videos and the internet bombard them with photos of perfect looking people of all ages. They are all thin, have the right style of hair, never have acne and have lots of friends and go on dates very young.
I have tried my best to raise my children to not base their self esteem on looks but on their personality, talents, beliefs and most importantly their ability to find things they love about themselves. I’ve taught them that although it hurts that not everyone will like you. And it will only hurt you to do things to try to get others to like you.
Listen closely to this video, one of my all time favorite songs and singers:
