An open letter to my daughter and to all teenage girls;
You can’t have it all. For years we have bought into the “superwoman” myth. We can have the perfect career, working 60+ hours a week, the perfect home, always clean and sparkly, the perfect family with 2.5 kids (not sure what we do the other .5%), cook gourmet meals every night and look like a supermodel at all times. Guess what? Some days you will come home from your job to a sick child, a messy house and a takeout meal. You will feel guilty that you aren’t able to measure up, followed by hours of comparing yourself to others who look like they are living the American Dream. Your self-esteem will plummet and you will wonder how they do it. Want to know the answer? They don’t. They are comparing themselves to you and asking the same questions. I know. I have been there and found myself surprised anyone would compare themselves to me.
Here’s what I have learned over the years:
1) Dream Big. Make a bucket list of all you want to accomplish in your life. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. Never stop adding to it. Adjust it as your interests change but never stop believing you can do it.
2) Expect Dreams to Take A While. There will be times in your life when your dreams might have to be put on hold. That’s okay. You have a lifetime to accomplish them. You are never too old.
3) Expect Rejection. Remember the story of Susan B. Anthony? She suffered ridicule and persecution to stand up for a cause she believed in and she changed the course of history.
4) Be Unstoppable. Do you have a dream? Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. Be your own biggest fan, believe in yourself and know you can do it. You don’t have to be “superwoman,” all you have to do is try your best and you will be “super you.”
To all the moms who are reading:
Did you know six out of ten girls stop doing what they love because of anxiety about their looks? That is six too many. Having a frank talk about self-esteem with our daughters can be difficult. Create a regular “Just Us Girls” night and do fun bonding activities. Want to find other ways to help girls develop their self- esteem?
I am a confirmed email subscriber to your blog and LOVE it.
My favorite dove product is their body washes. I think they are such high quality for the great price and they smell so good.
I love the Dove conditioner. It smells so good and works great.
My favorite dove product is their deodorant. It’s the only type I use.
My favorite Dove products are the shampoo and conditioner! They make my hair so soft and easy to manage!
I like the Dove Body Washes.
my favorite dove product is the beauty bar , or the soap bar in the cool moisture.
My favorite Dove product is their body wash.
I have tried Dove shampoo, hairspray, deodorant and other items. I have liked all the ones that I have tried, very good quality and they smell good too.
Growing up in today’s culture is so tough, and we need to make sure that our children have a strong self-esteem, and Dove is doing a good part in helping with this. I have always like the Dove bar soap and have washed my face with it for years.
I like the go fresh Cool Moisture Beauty Bar
I use the unscented Dove winter care bar soap all year long in my shower. I have really sensitive skin and this works for me!
I love all dove products, especially the deodorant.
Love this post! Great tips too. I like the “expect rejection”… if they are prepared for rejection, it might not be so hard when it comes.
I have always loved Dove’s Beauty Bars, like Purely Pampering Shea Butter Beauty Bar With Warm Vanilla.
I use a lot of Dove products. But I think my favorite would have to be the bar soap.
Fan of the original Dove bar soap!
LOVED the letter and SOO true.. all the points are great BE UNSTOPPABLE is one of my favorite.. you can do it no matter what!! Thanks for sharing and I will share with my daughter as well
Wonderful post and I totally agree. When I was a teen I LOVED to sing but my mom didn’t like it. She was verbally demeaning and down right ugly to me. So I did not follow my dream. I still love to sing but am very self conscience. I am nearing 50 and still have issues with singing around others.
What a great post. I hate that today in society kids are always so worried over their looks. We have to pick and choose our words so carefully with them as it really hurts their self esteem. Great post!!
That is a great letter to your daughter and basically any young girl out there. I love mostly all Dove products and since I had sensitive skin, their soap was practically the only soap I was able to use.
Self esteem is a huge issue with teenage girls – and it shouldn’t be. We’re all beautiful, no matter what we look like! I just wish society didn’t put the pressure on us that we should look a certain way. It’s not right!
I love Dove body wash for the shower. My favorite is Cucumber and Green Tea. My husband loves Dove Bar soap. We are a Dove family.
I am sending this to my sister right now. She just turned 18, just started college, and gets so distracted by the things (and people) that don’t matter. Thank you for writing this.
I am trying so hard to make sure my girls are never worried that they are not pretty enough or thin enough or anything else. I want them to be full of confidence.
Great letter! Thanks for sharing… 🙂
i really love dove shampoo
I love this post. As an educator, I understand all too well the importance of boosting the self-esteem and confidence of our young women. Too often they become stifled by society’s preconceived stereotypes about women and beauty.
Ah. TIme. Kids are so programmed to have what they want right now!!!
As a mom of two girls I worry about their self esteem daily
I’ve always struggled into becoming the woman I would be in the future. This is really inspiring 🙂
AWESOME message and a great letter!!
My favorite product is the deodorant. And by there way, I have so been there with the sick child, a messy house and a takeout meal. 🙂
My favorite Dove product is their shampoo. It makes my hair so soft and clean. I just love it!!
Truly inspiring! Lovely letter!!
This is an excellent post! So true!!! Always dream big!
Everyone is beautiful in their own way-I believe there was even a song about this! I really wish that all people-women and men alike would just try to be the best they can be and stop trying to be what they are not!!
My son has extremely sensitive skin even to light. We use the sensitive dove bar and sensitive dove body wash both unscented. It is the only soap my son can tolerate. You have written an amazing and positive post for women and girls alike. It is hard to remember we are not super woman. Thanks for sharing.
what a great post. I will definitely have to remember this as my girls grow up. Society always makes girls feel horrible about themselves and it is ridiculous!
What a lovely letter really great to read and thank you for sharing 🙂
Ok, I tried to fix laughter to LETTER but it was already submitting. However, for all I know your laughter is outstanding too. lol
Your comment made me laugh, Liz. Maybe my laughter is outstanding. 🙂
Sadly, I’m not surprised about that statistic but it’s disheartening. I’ve never really been one to hold myself up to impossible standards, but it’s really hard to ignore the pressure to do it. Your laughter is outstanding.
Lovely letter to your daughter and spot on! That is a sad statistic that needs to change and it does have to start with each one of us realizing our self worth and encouraging our daughters to do the same!
I love Dove’s initiative! Hopefully, many other companies will join this important cause. My fave products are the body soaps. Thanks for sharing!
I love the letter to your daughter. It is a great message!
We all seem to have this odd distorted image of the world one that no doubt is led by the media it’s quite sad really we all think we have to be perfect. x
Growing up is hard! Anything that we can do to help boost the self esteem of girls is importat!
Love this… I have two daughters and am so afraid of all they will have to face as girls and women. I can only hope that we raise them to be self-confident enough to dream big!
This is wonderful! I think the world has become really hard to live in and it is easy to feel we are less then what we truly are. Such a great message!!!!!! Very uplifting!
My favorite Dove product is their new deodorant.
This is a fantastic message, as for my favorite dove products I love their body washes.
As a mother of two teenage girls (plus a teen boy and a pre-teen girl)…Eek! It can be so tough to make sure that they are self-confident and happy with themselves. Love this message!
It is really important for girls to remember the things you listed in your blog post. I really wish the teen years were not so hard on girls’ self esteem. It’s important for moms to be aware so they can help build them up.
I had the WORST anxiety about the way I looked when I was a teen. I have naturally curly hair and I was one of THREE girls who did in my grade and we were all outcast for being different. To this day I am still self conscious about it and keratin/flat iron it straight. Thank god I have all boys.
My favorite is the fragrance-free body wash. It’s in my shower right now! I use it every day.
This is such a great message! It’s important to dream big and strive for what you really want, but also important to understand that some sacrifices will have to be made along the way.
I have always been a fan of Dove soap and even more so now a fan of the company for the steps they are taking to help in this area. Great article.
What a beautiful letter to your daughter and so important! I struggled with self esteem and a letter like this would have helped 😉 Love this campaign!
Call me crazy, but I like the bar of Dove soap. I know most of you use a wash… but pass the soap please.
What a great message. I would add, forget the naysayers and the haters.