The Importance of Being an Educated Woman by Estelle

The Importance of Being an Educated Woman by Estelle - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Through my journey of high school, I have learned many life lessons and still have many more to learn. One tip I would extend to younger girls that struggle with body dysmorphia and incessantly feel the pressure to look “beautiful” is that beauty is not limited to physical features; what is underneath one’s skin is what truly is valuable. Students need to cultivate their conscience, not their thigh gap. This statement is meaningful to me because when I was in middle school, I struggled with an eating disorder and never felt satisfied with my body. I thought the thinner, the better. Now, I realize that education is the most valuable asset a woman can have. My high school teachers have taught me so much and beyond. I am ready to emerge in the real world as an educated woman, not restricted by my measurements.
It is important to live a healthy lifestyle full of physical activity and to nourish one’s body right, but nourishing one’s mind will go a longer distance than having a size 2 body. I would tell girls to enrich themselves in their studies and current events to develop a worldly opinion. It is also important to be confident in the body one was given. One needs to work with what they have to achieve happiness. A woman can improve her own mind infinitely, but there is a point when one becomes unhealthily obsessive over her body image. My overall advice for girls is to be comfortable in your own body because it is the only one you are given and to know that girls are worth more than just physical beauty; there is something alluring in a woman who can form opinions on contemporary issues and be an educated individual in society.