Acceptance

Everyone wants to be accepted, to have a group of people that love them no matter what, a group they can call on for help.

Often, this is your family and maybe a few friends. But what if you had no one? What if you were seen as an outcast by your family, your friends, your village, because of something you couldn’t control? Or worse, because of something someone did to you? What if no one wanted you?

Take a look at this story.

Think About:

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong or that you didn’t fit in? When?
Do you remember how it felt to be on the outside? Describe it.
Have you ever made someone else feel like they didn’t fit in or that they shouldn’t be a part of a group? Why?
How can you help other girls in your community or your school fit in better? Share one concrete thing you can do. Tell us about it when you do it. How did she react?
How can you help girls around the world who don’t fit in and it’s not even their fault, girls like Jamie in the video? Share with us one of your ideas.
What do you have in common with Jamie from the story? Her world looks different, but you have things in common too. What are they?

Activities:

Encouragement Game Sit in a circle and give everyone a piece of paper and pen. Each person should write their name at the top of the piece of paper, then pass it to the person on their left. Each person then writes one or two (or more) positive characteristics about the person who's name is at the top of the paper. After 30-60 seconds, everyone passes the pieces of paper around to their left again. This continues until everyone has written on everyone else's paper. The final step is for everyone to receive their piece of paper back again so they can read the affirmations from others.

Send us a video! Send us a video with your answer to one of the questions in the “To Think About” section. Or maybe write to us sharing what you learned this month. Email your responses to: [email protected]. Maybe we will pick yours to share!!

The Three Compliments Journal Find a blank journal or notebook and a pen or a pencil. When you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, grab the journal and pen, and give yourself three compliments.
Perhaps you like how your eyes glow in the morning light? Or maybe you appreciate how your hair looks today? Perhaps you believe that you are a smart and intelligent person? Just find anything… anything that you appreciate in yourself, things that make you feel good about yourself.

The goal is to focus on your positive sides, and you will find them.

Write down the compliments, read them aloud in front of the mirror and congratulate yourself. Then let your day go on as usually.

This will allow you to encourage self-love, self-respect and have a better mental picture about your own worth. While at first it might seem awkward, and you might get the feeling that “you’re wasting your time” – believe me, this exercise is powerful! It’s like filling a big barrel of water a drop by drop each and every day – do it for one week, nothing happens, do it for 3 weeks, nothing happens – but do it for long enough and soon, one day, you’ll realize that the entire barrel is FULL with water.

Just ONE drop at a time! That’s what this exercise will do for you – do it long enough, and one day your self-image will be COMPLETELY changed!