Really!?!?

As some of you may very well know, I am a teacher.

I absolutely LOVE my job. I seriously do. If I were to ever win the powerball, I'd still teach ((but I might pay someone to do my paperwork)) :P

Well today I was holding conferences with students in my freshman class as we went over their journals from last week.

The one prompt I had last week was this:
"Tell me about an event in your life that CHANGED you."

Students were instructed that they could write about anything. It could be losing a family pet, gaining a family member, a new home, their first hunting trip, getting their cell phone, moving, anything as long as it was school appropriate.

In my class of 17 students (all grade 9) THREE of my girls wrote about an experience with a doctor badgering them about their weight. One girl wrote an entire page about her first diet and how it started in 3rd grade. Another girl wrote about 5th or 6th grade and her doctor telling her she was fat. And another wrote about I think 7th grade and her doctor telling her she'd have a bad life if she didn't lose weight.

I was in shock (and nearly to tears) reading these accounts. For starters, my students really don't like writing and these young ladies filled the lines with their memories.

I know living a healthy lifestyle is important and watching your weight goes with it. I just could not believe the vivid accounts these young ladies were so willing to share about their weight woes. It just made me think about so many issues regarding societal pressures and self esteem.

Kids these days have a lot on their plates. No pun intended.