I was recently contacted by Jill Katuin, PN1 certified nutrition coach at 'Do Something 365' and mother of two beautiful daughters, to present at her "Love your Selfie" workshop being held at the Mill Race Coworking space at 200 State Street in Cedar Falls. As mental health and suicide rates have doubled in the U.S. among 10-17 year olds since 2007, I think it's safe to say that giving our students every possible resource we can to help them see their own value and that they're not alone is extremely important. I'm confident that we've all had times where we felt like we hit rock bottom (I know I did). I think the trick to getting out is giving those who are struggling the proper support, self love tools, and encouragement necessary to see them through the dark spell so they can witness, first hand, that it gets better.

Being in the photo industry, I get comments all the time (from adults and teens), where they mention feeling negatively about a part of their body. I, personally, struggled with acne and awkwardness as a teen and it's crazy how those insecurities follow you into your adult years. It was something that I thought I would just outgrow, which, maybe to some level, I did...but for the most part, I eventually realized that the only way to get past them was to do the hard work of tackling them head on - and I wish I had known that at 13 rather than just waiting until I was in my late 20s. 

That being said, I was thrilled to get Jill's message and am so excited to be a part of this workshop as this is something that holds a special place in my heart. I'm looking forward to meeting and encouraging these young girls to "love their selfie" through positive energy, humor, vulnerability, as well as some truths stemming from my own experience in the age of filters and Photoshop.

If you have a middle school aged daughter who you think would benefit from this, I highly encourage you to consider sending her as I think this will be a great opportunity to work on changing the negative self talk and creating a community of support and positivity.

The workshop will be held Friday, February, 21st from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. Tickets will be $30 per attendee to help cover the cost of the event center, snacks and other materials.

You can get more information on the event page. 

I hope to see your beautiful daughters there!!