Self-Esteem Workshop

I taught my first Empowered Girls Self-Esteem Workshop on June 14th. I was a lot of fun and very eye-opening, and I'd like to thank the girls and their moms who attended this first pilot test of the program. I've learned a few things already. First, this is a very important curriculum for all middleschool-aged girls and their mothers. It gets both mother and daughter thinking and talking about the subject of self-esteem - how we view ourselves and how we think about our self-worth. We started the workshop with introductions, and I asked the girls to say their names, something they think is beautiful about them, and something they like about their personalities. None of the girls could answer the question about what was beautiful about them. Either they were shy or embarassed or didn't want to seem conceited, but whatever the reason, it was a dramatic start to the session that the mothers and I all realized made the session all the more important. I think that by the end they could have answered the question more easily. As we went through the exercises and topics, the girls started to open up and feel more comfortable, and by the end, everyone had made new friends. Another thing I learned is that the workshops are as important, if not more important, for the moms as they are for the girls. The purpose of the workshop is to spark the conversations between mothers and daughters, and we definitely did that. There is no way anyone left the workshop without continuing to talk about some of the topics as they come up in real life. We did a section on peer pressure and one on the role of the media, and both got the mothers and daughters talking. All in all, I am proud of the work we did, and I am looking forward to refining the program and teaching more workshops around the MetroWest area of Boston. The summer will likely be slow, but check back to my website from time to time to check the schedule of workshops for the fall. Empowered girls rock!