The ever-changing image

Occasionally you read something that really makes you think. For me, it was the other day in the bathroom. In a room full of mirrors in which college co-eds scrutinize ever inch of their bodies, was a flyer discussing the ever-changing definition of the “perfect body.” In the 1880’s every woman craved a voluptuous figure and 1920’s women wore breast flatteners. Now, women are expected to be tall and thin with big boobs and a tiny waist. Body image is continually changing. One thing that remains constant, however, is the drive to live up to these often unrealistic standards. Especially in today’s world of digital photography, airbrushed cover girls, and emaciated models, women are taught unhealthy habits and a hatred of the bodies they have. On a daily basis, we are exposed to an unhealthy standard of what society expects us to be. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the United States is the ranked No. 9 on the list of countries with the greatest percentage of overweight people according Forbes.com. The medical ramifications that come with being obese are alarming. I believe somewhere in the middle of all this is the true meaning of health. Webster’s defines health as the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit. It truly is a balance of internal happiness and external conditions. This is my story of the struggle to find that balance.