Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model

I love this video... I love this video SOO much...

I love it because when I first watched it, I was at a very impressionable stage in my life. A time when every time I looked in the mirror I picked at what I saw. I picked about what I saw so much that I hated everything that I saw. When I looked at other people I picked them apart. I judged myself on   them and I rated myself. I had the world set out in two groups of people. People that were better than me and people that I saw myself on par with.

It was an incredibly twisted way of viewing the world, and I would feel guilty while I was doing it. I kept telling myself that I didn't want to be this superficial person. That I looks didn't matter. And they don't. Personality matters so much more.

Except, even though I knew that. It didn't stop me from wanting what I saw in other people. It didn't stop the crushing jealousy I felt (and still feel), when I see someone pulling off an outfit that I love and that I could NEVER pull off, and never will because of my body type and shape.

I thought that world was unfair, I felt like the victim and my own mind and way of perception was the bully.

I used to wonder if everyone felt like this... and I guess to a certain extent at some points in peoples lives they do.

When I saw this video, I felt inspired. I felt empowered. I looked in the mirror and tried to see the whole picture and not pick at imperfections.

It taught me a lot about how to view myself, and spoke about a topic that I am very passionate about.

I'm not saying that I'm always happy when I step on the scales now. Not even close. But this video, and ones like it meant that sometimes when I look in the mirror I smile.

And even though that's not a lot. It is still more than before

Maturity

   There seems to be a common misconception amongst some teenagers that being mature is equivelent to doing "adult" things. My year level at school is a prime example of this; there are constantly stories floating around about all the things girls have done on the weekend.
   I go to an all girls school, basically this ensures that gossip gets around the place like rapid fire. I know this from personal experience, when something happened to me on a Saturday night and by Monday morning the ENTIRE year level knew (our year level consists of about 200 girls).
   Anyway, this is not what I wanted to talk about. I want to talk about something that happened to me resently. One of my friends in 16 years old and she came to me the other weekend and the conversation went something like this:

Friend: GUESS WHAT?!
Me: What?
Friend: well, you know that guy I was talking about?
Me: Yeah, did he ask you out?
Friend: well no, but he was at my house and we kissed and then we... um..
Me: um... what? what happened?
Friend: well, you know...
Me: I have a faint idea, but I want to hear you say it.
Friend: We... *after lots of stalling* we had sex...
Me: What?! are you dating now?
Friend: No, he's not ready...
Me: but you lost our virginity to him?
Friend: yeah, well, I'm pretty mature...
Me: yeah...

   THIS is what I'm talking about. She had sex, she wasn't on the pill, she had known the guy for a month and she wasn't dating him, she wasn't in any kind of relationship with him and she thought that she was MATURE?!
   No. That is ridiculously imature. That is so short sighted. And that is another problem with my generation. We think we are invincible. That we can drink and do drugs and have sex and there will be no consquences. That doing these things makes us more mature.
   I think that maturity is more an ability to make thoughout decisions that you won't really regret the next day. I think maturity is knowing your limits. And I get that we are young, that we need time to experiement and find our groove. But whilst participating in these risky activites please don't pretend that you are mature doing them.