By Melissa Reed
The aroma of pizza filled the doorway as students walked into the classroom one-by-one. The desk were scattered, and music boomed throughout the room.
A few college students – all girls – familiar with one another occupied seats in the room and chatted, waiting for the program to begin. Anxious to learn more about one another, the students engaged in activities centered on self-esteem and body image.
According to Richard Stockton University EOF Alumnae Chinasa Tyler, the program entitled “In my Own Image: Building Self-Esteem in all Girls,” is usually a program, she coordinates for adolescent girls.
“I started off with middle school girls because self-esteem is very low among them,” Tyler said.
Tyler, now a student in the College’s School of Counseling, the School of Education program organizes events for young women to build confidence and self-esteem. Although Tyler usually manages a small group of middle school students, Thurs. evening, March 24, she finally got the chance to conduct a program with college students.
Tyler began the program with an ice-breaker game that heightened the positive vibe in the room.
While standing in a circle, students played the game “‘thumb ball.” Written with black ink on the colorful ball were questions reflecting life. The students threw the ball to one another, and when catching the ball with their “thumb,” read questions like “Who is the most important person in your life and why.”
Though students indicated that they enjoyed the game, they also said some of the questions were hard to answer.
At the end of the game, Tyler showed a video entitled “Image is Powerful,” by former Victoria Secret model Cameron Russell. In the video, Russell admits to being privileged; she also admits that she won “a genetic lottery,” she’s tall, pretty and an underwear model.
Though Russell admits to being a “privileged white female,” and having advantages in life; she also admits to having insecurities about herself.
After watching Russell’s Ted Talk video, the small room of college girls stated that the video allowed them to perceive their “body image” differently.
“How can we embrace ourselves,” Tyler said. “Let’s go around the room and state some insecurities we may have about ourselves or about our body.”
Using two mirrors, the students recorded their reflection, that is, how they are viewed by other people and how they view themselves. On one mirror, students recorded their insecurities, and on the other mirror, the students wrote positive quotes – and things they would like to improve on.
Though much of the information discussed was confidential, many students indicated that this program gave them the time and the opportunity to reflect on their college experience.
“I loved the mirror activity,” Soph. Quanisha Tatum, a History and Sec. Education major, said. “I thought it was amazing, I’ve seen it places, but I’ve never done it.
According to Tatum, this program creates a better understanding for people who she is not “close friends” with. “It gives people the chance to become closer and to build a bond,” she added.