Behold, my new favorite fruit:
Guava. I found them at the Little Italy Mercato last weekend and was so surprised by how awesomely sweet they are. They’re yet another thing on my list to buy again when I make another trip to the market tomorrow. Here are some health benefits of eating this super fruit:
- It’s a very rich source of fiber & antioxidants
- They’re high in Vitamin-C & iron, making it a great preventative against colds and viral infections. In fact, I read that just one guava has 3x the recommended daily intake of Vitamin-C!
- Due to the astringents found in the fruit and its abundance of vitamin-A, B, C, and potassium, it can help improve skin texture (supposedly has the power to tone & tighten – yes, please!)
- Guavas are a good source of flavonoids like lycopene, which studies suggest help to prevent skin damage from UV rays and protect against cancer.
- It’s also very good to eat if you, um, have problems with your #2’s. The fruit’s astringents help bind loose bowels; on the flip side, the seeds apparently act as a natural laxative.
‘Am I Ugly’ YouTube Videos
Yesterday I got sidetracked from work for a bit when my news screen popped up and I saw a story about a current YouTube trend. Apparently, young girls are posting videos asking the world to judge them and determine if they’re ugly or not. Some of the videos have thousands of comments – some nice, some mean. Really mean.
There are so many elements to this that bug me. Frankly, I find it to be a little heartbreaking that girls are putting themselves out there like this for complete strangers to ridicule their looks.
In the video I watched, it’s ask if these girls are posing the question just to get attention. Well, duh. They’re young teenage girls, unsure of themselves and looking for validation that they’re pretty, or worse, are seeking confirmation that they’re unattractive.
But to me, what’s worse about this is that there are people, some probably grown adults, making such hateful comments in response. It always annoys me to see people making nasty remarks on any article or video I see online. I feel that people only say such negative things because they aren’t happy with themselves. I also think that the Internet allows people to say whatever ridiculous statements they want while hiding behind a screen name. Ick.
All of this begs the question, why are young girls finding it necessary to post ‘Am I Ugly?’ videos? It probably has a lot to do with the prevalence of beautiful people everywhere in the media. This undoubtably has a huge impact on the standards we hold people to, especially young impressionable girls who want to look like the girl on the magazine cover (who is definitely photoshopped to appear flawless, might I add).
I think that us adults have got to do a better job at instilling the importance of other attributes into children – ones that are deeper than physical appearance. We need to find a way to ingrain more confidence and self-worth into our young kids so they believe that they are not just attractive, but smart, talented, athletic, funny, artistic, and whatever else, so that they don’t feel the need to ask, “Am I ugly or pretty?” on YouTube.
As human beings, we care about how others perceive us. Anyone who says that it doesn’t matter at all what anyone else thinks of them is probably lying. But I don’t believe it’s healthy to put such an emphasis on the opinions of others, let alone total strangers. This makes me think of a picture & saying I have on my office desk:
What are your thoughts on the ‘Am I Ugly’ YouTube video trend?
I think this you tube trend is horrible… We live in a society that is totally focused on how you look instead of what you can do and achieve. I hate hollywood, I hate the stupid perfection showed on TV and all that stupid non-sense. I personally made many mistakes in my life because I hated the way I look.. I married the wrong person, had plastic surgery that went wrong.. and felt more miserable than I felt before… I think people need to stop watching the media and trying to be so judgemental of others… We live in a world that is full of fake people and people who want to put us down.. If we let them, they will destroy us.. SAD, SAD… I was never told I was beautiful and special when I was young so I think that had a lot to do with all the mistakes I made in my life…
Thanks for sharing Liza. I agree, I think that how much we value ourselves and our self-perceptions have a lot to do with how we were raised. I personally like all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. I think it’s entertaining and fun. However, I think that our society does put too much of an emphasis on physicality and centers our whole sense of self-worth around it. It’s hard for women, especially young girls who are insecure to begin with, to see these flawless girls on the covers of magazines everyday and then not compare themselves. The media isn’t going anywhere, so I’m not sure how to make it better except to make sure we compliment the girls in our lives on both their physical appearance AND all of the other positive qualities they possess, so that they grow up to hopefully be strong, confident women.