In recent news, a Victoria Secret Angel model resigned her position. She told the press that she wants to reserve her body only for her husband. As I read the article, I found it quite intriguing because she was standing up for what she believed in while walking away from something she worked so hard for.

Tucked away in this article was another reason for her leaving that had to do with an encounter with her eight year old cousin:

“I was doing my makeup in the mirror one day and she was watching me,” Bisutti said.  “She looked at me and was like, ‘You know, I think I want to stop eating so I can look like you.’”

“It just broke my heart because she looks up to me and I didn’t want to be that type of person that she thought she had to do that to be beautiful,” she said.  “Thousands of girls that think that being beautiful is an outer issue and really it’s a heart issue.”

As an educator, I see so many girls who are struggling with this idea of thinness making them more attractive. They have their “thinspiration.” I think it is so critical that we teach young women and men that being beautiful is so much more than how we look. We have to understand that no matter who we are, we are influencing the people around us…either positively or negatively. To parents, please understand that YOU are your teens greatest influence. Despite what you may think, you are your child’s biggest influence. A group of high schoolers  just told me so!