Last evening the lovely, and inspirational, Jennifer Lawrence was featured on Barbara Walter’s 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013. Leading up to her appearance there was a lot of hype about how she was going to speak out against the media’s focus on, and strong value in, defining a woman’s worth by her physical appearance and how they promote unattainable beauty standards through such means as photoshopping. Lawrence, in preview clips of her interview, emphasized her belief that the media should ban the usage of the words “fat” and “diet,” which I completely agree with and believe would be a monumental move in the right direction in the fight against such mental diseases as eating disorders and body dysmorphia. However, I was EXTREMELY disappointed to find that when I watched the special last night this portion of Jennifer Lawrence’s interview was cut…not cool Barbara…not cool. Young girls have so much to deal with and overcome in our current society… They are constantly being told by the media, and by or societal beauty standards, that they aren’t pretty enough, thin enough, and that they are inadequate. What most of these girls don’t realize, and what Jennifer Lawrence is trying to bring light to, is the fact that these unobtainable images of the “ideal beauty standards” are fake. They aren’t real and no one looks like that…photoshop is a powerful and harmful tool that the media uses, which inevitably promotes unhealthy body images for young girls. So, Jennifer Lawrence is doing what all actresses and those in the limelight should be doing, she is promoting healthy body images and speaking out against the media’s harsh assessments of women’s bodies. We all, as women, need to take on this battle together, and help each other learn our true worth by speaking out against, and educating, one another about how warped the media’s beauty standards have become and how the last thing we should be doing is criticizing a women’s weight…who do we think we are?

This is what we should be “saying” to the media.

J. Lawr you are inspiring me. Thank you for just being you and speaking your mind. You rock girl!

Yesterday the world suffered a great loss when one of the most inspirational and influential men to ever walk this earth passed away. Nelson Mandela’s impact as a leader and activist is undeniable and is felt universally. His poignant messages and strong efforts to unite all individuals will forever persist. We must never forget him because we can only better ourselves by learning from Mandela’s willingness to forgive and reconcile. Madiba will forever be in our hearts and the world will truly miss him, hopefully his legacy will never disappear and we will always remember just how much he did, not just for his own nation of South Africa, but for the whole world.