I Feel Pretty: the good, the bad, and COVID-19
A lot has happened this year. I don’t need to tell you about all the bad that 2020 has brought to us, because I’m pretty sure we’re all reminded every time we put on a mask (Stay safe and social distance, by the way!). However, I Feel Pretty has brought me so much joy this year, even though we couldn’t do everything we wanted to. So, let’s talk about this last year or so and what I’m planning for IFP in the future because I just officially got my GOLD AWARD! :)
In September of 2019 I started this whole thing, and I had no idea how rewarding it would be. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to get these middle school girls to talk to me at all (which now seems really silly). I went into detail about my first Girl Scout Hangout session in my first blog post “Can’t Blame a Girl for Tying,” so if you want to reread that (like I do all the time), go check it out.
One of my favorite things about this past year has been being involved in my IFP girls’ lives. It was so encouraging— they immediately added me into their group chat, and boy, did I forget what it’s like to be in 5th and 6th grade. I make it very clear to them that I don’t know everything but would love to help them out based on what I do know.
We obviously can’t only talk about the super fun parts of IFP (we’ll get back to those in a second!); we need to talk about what I could’ve done (and will do in the future) better. The first downer on this project was that I didn’t get to go to the Boys and Girls Club as early as I had wanted to OR maintain an in-person relationship with them once COVID-19 became a serious risk. Thankfully, I was able to rejoin them in September 2020, but I really wish I could’ve been going all summer.
Now let’s look at my original plans that failed: I really wanted to do I Feel Pretty sessions in the foster care system. I did a few, I realized that the nature of this environment would be that I wouldn’t always be seeing the same girls, which means they were all just meeting my nervous, first-impression persona. I loved working with the foster care system, but I felt that I could better invest in the girls through the Boys and Girls Club and Girl Scout troops.
If you’d like to hear more about what my original plans for IFP were, watch the video linked below:
Anyway, now it’s November 2020. I officially have my Gold Award, and I couldn’t be more motivated to keep going with IFP after all the positive reinforcement I’ve gotten from the girls. I did a survey asking what I could do better, and the only negative things they had to say were:
asking if we could meet more
asking if we could talk about body image more
I’m not being dramatic here— I cried.
My main goal this last year was to show love to these girls in hopes they would better love themselves, and that always will be the main goal of this project. Doing these sessions genuinely brings the biggest smile to my face every time I get to do them.
To anyone wanting to do something like this for your community:
you don’t have to be shooting for your Gold Award
you don’t have to have it all together
do it. Please. Communities need encouragement. Don’t wait. You never know when a global pandemic will rear its ugly head.
To everyone reading:
thank you for reading my blogs and watching my videos. I love sharing this project with everybody.
be kind.
more than anything, remember you are loved. You deserve to feel pretty, strong, and empowered.