My Story

Here you can read my testimony and the reason behind the Healthy, Beautiful, Confident program!

Introduction
        I believe everyone can understand the awkwardness, confusion, and changes that are brought about by the early teen years. At this point in life adolescents are facing pressure and vulnerability like never before. One of the most, if not THE most, prominent of these is one's image. Why should someone have to worry about this at such a young age, or ever?! In reality, they shouldn't, however, rather than trying to spread this message, the messages that are being spread are the ones that suggest we have to look this way, and weigh this much, and wear these things. With so much focus on the media's false portrayal of beauty, health, and value, it is becoming increasingly difficult to teach young people that value comes from themselves, and not from others. It is harder now to instill confidence in young people, and harder still because the focus on appearance is starting at younger and younger ages. So what can be done about this issue? Well, we can start by teaching true beauty, self confidence, and promoting good health and fitness.

My Story
        I, myself, was not very concerned with my appearance, or my health, in my pre-teen and early teen years, and honestly, I shouldn't have been! Those years should be spent exploring middle school, finding myself, and focusing on my education. For a while, it was that way, but things started to change, and I can distinctly remember when it happened. I was in the seventh grade, and the rest of the girls in my grade were on this "be thin" kick. They barely ate during lunch, they over-worked themselves during gym class, and did everything they deemed "necessary" to be skinny and "attractive".

        I was one of the few girls who did not partake in this growing phenomena. In fact, I was doing the opposite, which was not at all better. I over-ate, I was eating unhealthy foods, I did minimal work in gym class, and generally just did not care much about the effects this was having on my body and my self-esteem.

        One night I was struck with a rather rude awakening. I was at a friend's house celebrating her birthday with several other friends. Some of which were on the "get thin" craze. I had grabbed a few extra pieces of candy from the bowl when a so-called friend said to me, "Why are you eating more? That's probably why your thighs are so big. Do they rub together when you walk?" Suddenly everyone was looking at my legs and giggling. I didn't say anything, I just let it happen partly because of my low self-esteem, partly because I felt like she was right. Those words hurt and they were enough to make me evaluate myself and make a change. Unfortunately, I had made a change that wasn't going to do me any better.

        I wanted to be skinny, and to be everyone else's idea of "beautiful". I spent the next several months eating minimally, but still not any healthier than before. I remember allowing myself one bag of Doritos every day at lunch, and skipping breakfast altogether. (I'm surprised I didn't turn orange with all of the Doritos I had been consuming!) Little did I know that this was not a better alternative to the way I was living before. I had lost a lot of weight, which is what I thought I wanted, until people began to point out my appearance once again. I would hear things like "You're too skinny, eat a donut!" Once again I was faced with self-consciousness about my appearance, and the feeling that, no matter what I did, I would never achieve that false image of "beauty".

        Something had to be done. I didn't want to worry about other people's opinions of me any more, I wanted to put my value into my own hands, and to do it I had to make a change. This is when I came to a second evaluation. I went to my health care provider and learned that my family had health history that I did not want to repeat. It would take some work and dedication, but I was serious. I knew that this time the change would be for a better, healthier me. I did the research that time, and thus gave myself the keys to a healthy, beautiful, and confident lifestyle. So here I am today, a Miss Maryland Teen USA, who is healthy, happy, and confident, hoping to reach as many people as I can, inspire others, and spread the Healthy, Beautiful, Confident message.

     
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope that in some form I have inspired and motivated you to embark on  a path of health, fitness, and confidence.

-Mariela Pepin
Miss Maryland Teen USA 2014