Because I am a Woman

I think struggling with self acceptance is a completely normal thing that every girl deals with…it doesn’t matter if your Korean or Guatemalan. I did a documentary called My Life (Translated) for MTV which told the stories of American teens in immigrant families dealing with universal issues…dating, body image, college and every culture has their own set of values that create a different standard of normal. For me, my standard of beauty was Cindy Crawford and I couldn’t be farther away from that, but does any girl feel like they can live up to a glossy image of supermodels? I was terribly self conscious about my body, the shape of my eyes, the straightness of my hair and it kept me from every trying out for the cheerleading squad or running for school President. I think when you’re young, living at home, going to school every day, being judged is a big part of the schedule…out in the real world, as your world begins to expand, you see that humor, intelligence, talent are often times more valuable than the way you look. So my advice would be to cultivate the 99% of you that has nothing to do with your looks. You ever been around someone really beautiful who had an awful personality? It doesn’t take long to figure out what’s important and what really counts.