If everyone lit their own candle,the whole world would be lit.

(Mary Moskovitz)

I am beautiful. I don’t have a perfect complexion.I don’t have an incredible smile or eyes that draw people in.I am 5’3”,average by most standards,and I bite my nails.My makeup never looks quite right,and I get tiny nicks all over my legs when I shave.No one has ever accused me of being gorgeous. But I am beautiful. I see beauty everywhere.I see beauty in the eyes of a homeless person.I see beauty in my mother,even though she never wears makeup,has glasses dating from the early ‘80s,and can’t be bother reading magazines with the word beauty anywhere on the cover.She is gorgeous.I am able to see through to the soul of everyone. I am beautiful. I will never be a model,win a beauty pageant,or have my hand used in prints ads.My feet are covered with scars left over from my eleven years of ballet,eleven years of trying to find beauty through flashy costumes,stage makeup,and hundres of opening night roses.As it turns out ,beauty wasn’t to be found out on stage or in the applause of an audience. But I am beautiful. I see beauty in the world.I see beauty in my grandmother’s eyes,even though they don’t always recognize me since she developed Alzheimer’s.I see beauty in my best friend’s smile,even though she seeks truth through isolation. I am beautiful. I knoe that on the outside I wouldn’t stop traffic,but I also know that if you dig a little deeper you will strike gold.By seeing beauty even in unlikely places,I am able to see the beauty in me.By seeing the beauty in me,I can’t help but smile.And when I smile: I am beautiful.

Andrea Maikovich

HOPELESS

I’m all alone in a room that’s dark,
Fighting the urge to add another mark.
My tears are flowing,my thoughts collide,
And the end result I’ll have to hide.

I’m battered,bruised and all alone,
Unable to fight this on on my own.
Friends used to help me through the day,
But they saw my pain and ran away.


I’m growing weaker as the days pass,
Afraid today might be the last.
I know the next move is up to me,
Asking for help is the only key.

Dear Bullimia

Dear Bulimia, This is a hard letter for me to write, but I wanted to let you know that it’s over between us. We have been together for a while (has it been over a year already?), and now it is time to let you go. My friends and family told me how bad you were for me, how you never treated me right. You made me visit you in the bathroom at restaurants, wanting to get rid of whatever I ate before someone knocked on the door. You made me poke at my belly and smother my frustration in cookies and bread. You took me to the shower and made me throw up pasta and then left when I had to clean it up. You told me I was fat and worthless, too ugly for anyone but you to love. What memories we have shared. What about the times you had me walk to exhaustion on the treadmill or made me look into the flat, brown holes where my eyes used to be? Or the times you told me I wasn’t tall enough, with a smile not with enough, living for a future not bright enough. You did this to me but I stayed with you anyway. What about the day when you showed me my protruding bones?Yes,you made me fall in love with you then. I overlooked your faults. If you are confused as to why I amending things now, let me remind you of our fight. You saw I was very upset one day-the reason not being important-because my sadness was all you needed.You made me eat and eat,and then you made my insides bleed when I tried to get rid of it.You made my best friend worry and my brother cry.You push me to thought of suicide and left me alone with the pain.Remember now? In case you are wondering,I have found someone new,much better than you.He is around a lot more than you ever were.He dosen’t leave me alone when I cry and dosen’t make me visit him in the bathroom or shower.He was always there,in fact,but you were so jealous that you didn’t let me truly see him.Well,I’ve had enough of your possessiveness. I want back the time that I’ve wasted on you,the energy spent on turning my body into something you’d like.I want you to erase from my mind the look on Mom’s face when she found out we were together.I need you to let go of my self-esteemand my confidence,which you’ve abused for so long.I’m growing back my hair,replacing the thin strands that you left me with.I know you’ll not miss me,since you are with million of others.I hope they all have the courage to break up with you,too.I hope you are left alone one day,cold and friendless in your room,with no one left to bother.I wish you weren’t so darn popular. Well I guessthat’s it.Please don’t call anymore.You have visited me many times,and you are very desirable.Sometimes it’s hard to say no to youYou come back around my eighteenth birthday,and I bet you thought we could stay together for life.But now it’s really over.I know the love you had for me was only hate in disguise.I won’t let you kill me,and I won’t let you win me back.Tahe it gracefully,Bulimia.I am not your statistic anymore.
Goodbye and Good riddance.

Prayer For Friends

Dear Jesus, I ask You to bless my friends. Each one has a different set of circumstances, joys, problems, and needs, but You can provide for each one. Where there is pain, give Your peace and mercy. Where there is tiredness, please give understanding of Your strength, and show these how to tap into that strength by leaning on You.Where there are difficult decisions to make or confusion or stress, make Your way plain and give everything needed for these to follow where You lead. Where there is loneliness, I ask You to renew the experience of Your nearness and draw these into greater intimacy with You. Where there is insecurity or self-doubt, please grant renewed confidence in Your abilities, more faith in You inside each of these.Where there is fear, please demonstrate Your love and give courage, as we know You can work out any situation for the best. Where there is something blocking fellowship with You, please reveal the obstacle and take it away-whether sin, circumstances, or lack of faith. Where there is a need for finances or other provision, please supply as You promised in Your Word, "God will supply all your need" (Philippians 4:19 KJV).Where there is illness, send healing by Your miracle-working power and give instruction for healthful lifestyles.Where there is a need for friendship and love, send other believers to fill up the void, as the Bible says, "If we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other" (1 John 1:7 TLB). Where there is a spiritual emptiness, send Your Word for inspiration, and grant sweet communion with You in prayer.Whatever the need, please fill it, I ask in Your name, Jesus, as the Giver of all good things. Amen....

Do You Love Your Body?

That may seem like pretty crazy question,given all the reasons you've been given not to love your body-pictures of stick thin models everywhere you look,a million commercials for weight-loss plans on TV,and tons of magazine articles telling you how to Think Thin!Tweeze Those Brows!Trim That Tummy!But what about learning to accept,appreciate and love your body just the way is it?Because it's part of you,and when you love yourself,you love every part of yourself.Even the parts that aren't "perfect".

Accepting yourself just the way you are may seem like a pretty big challenge.It may even seem impossible.But it is not.You are about to read stories from real teens-and from me,Miss Ave,the owner of this blog.

Once you learn to love yourself and make peace with your body,dealing with other things like relationship,school,and family stuff gets a lot easier.If you want to find out more about how it's all connected,start reading..

Begin your journey...TQ.