Teen self-esteem
 High self-esteem is crucial during the turbulence of your teenage years
By Jessica Yvette

She is 18 years old and her boyfriend is emotionally & verbally abusive to her, it hurts her traumatically. There is nothing in the world she will not do for him. She cannot seem to let him go, no matter how bad he treats her. For anyone to let someone make him or her feel bad about himself or herself, means, "do they really love themselves?" How can you allow yourself to be treated so badly, you cry yourself to sleep? She says the World is against her and she is her only support system. However, where is the support, let alone, LOVE and self worth when the man you are so deeply in love with barely even notice you. These situations are hard for some adults and even harder for young adults and teens. We all experience problems with self-esteem at certain times in our lives — especially during our teens when we're figuring out who we are and where we fit in the world.  .:read more:.
 


Self-esteem for a girl can be a huge challenge.  If you are continually having negative thoughts about yourself then you will have a poor self-worth. By changing how you think to having a good solid confident outlook you will be taking your first steps in increasing and enhancing your very own self-esteem. I personally, have struggled with low self-esteem most of my teen years. I was never the "pretty" one, the "popular" one, or the “charming" one. I was always, just Jessica and for the longest, it was Jessica with the gap to my peers and Jessica with the “white" accent to everyone else. These things seem small but teen self-esteem is quite fragile, and even well-meaning comments can damage it.

We all have a mental picture of who we are, how we look, what we're good at, and what our weaknesses might be. We develop this picture over time, starting when we're very young kids. A lot of our self-image is based on interactions we have with other people and our life experiences. This mental picture (our self-image) contributes to our self-esteem. I can remember back in middle school, I use to wear knee high socks with my school uniforms “skorts" and the other students would say, "Jessica you dress so crazy!" In those days I took it as a personal attack to tease me, which it may have been, but looking back on it being the person I am today I would have loved that comment! I live for fashion. My style is totally unique and yes, very crazy.

Self-esteem is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others — and how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. People with healthy self-esteem are able to feel good about themselves, appreciate their own worth, take pride in their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can't do well in anything. The good news is that, because everyone's self-image changes over time, self-esteem is not fixed for life. Therefore, if you feel that your self-esteem isn't all it could be, you can improve it.

  Steps to Improving Self-Esteem
 

My way of learning to love and improve myself is through the word of GOD. If you want to improve your self-esteem, here are some bible scriptures to start empowering yourself:
    "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me". John 14:1
    “God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing".  Ephesians 2:10
    “We say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6   
“ I can do all things through him who strengthens me".  Philippians 4:13 ESV

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