Even now that I consider myself mature and strive to raise awareness about these issues, I still find myself caught in this mentality. I know there's more to me than just my looks and appearance, but I still strive to be thin, pay to have my teeth whitened, spend a lot of money on makeup and anti-aging serums, and go to salons to have a certain image. I share this with my friends and encourage them to try certain beauty products or weight loss products because I want them to benefit too, but we should be able to embrace who we are no matter our age, size or our color, because I know we are beautiful despite everything, but we always express our insecurities. I also find myself indifferent to politics because I tell myself that I don't understand it, that it's not my thing or that it's too complex to take the time to follow it. I've been this way when faced with many life challenges in the past, so instead of facing the truth, I made excuses or focused on the things that came more naturally to me. I was always a thin girl and never really had a weight complex, but growing up as a teenager, I was caught up with certain things. Not only do I remember loving the way they made me feel, but I loved being incredibly skinny. I remember feeling fat and gross for a long time after I stopped using and my body image was crap, I wanted to feel good, pretty and slim again. It took me a long time to regain my self-esteem, accept myself and love myself as I was. Even today, I can't deny that when I see petite women or women with this fabulous, unrealistic hourglass body, I think, damn, I wish I looked like that. Then I remember that I am studying and that I am going to be a career woman and that I am making an effort to change things and my status as a woman. I am more than my looks and even though I always try to