Every eighth grader at Lagunitas School completes a Change Project, a year-long endeavor in which they identify a problem in their community and create a plan to implement a quantifiable change. Students quickly discover that making change is hard. Sometimes even identifying a problem can be a challenge.
It’s not that our students don’t see the issues in their community, it’s just that sometimes those issues can feel gigantic and overwhelming. When a student came to me and said he wanted to reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean, for example, we talked about how we could make an impact in a year. The strategy we settled on for this year was reducing single-use plastic at school, inviting Recology to visit to educate students about recycling, and creating a school-based green team to make sure we are recycling and composting as effectively as possible. The student will quantify the success of his project by tracking single-use plastic at school. If he is able to reduce the amount, he has made an impact.
To make their projects successful, students need community support. They must reach out to local organizations and develop relationships with experts in the field in which they are interested. Learning how to ask a stranger to help you accomplish something is a valuable life skill. Students must write formal emails, make telephone calls and conduct interviews; they have to be on time for meetings and, most importantly, be able to communicate their interest in their issue with clarity. Every one of these skills prepares students for the workplace and future projects they will take on.
Another important element of making change is raising awareness, so our students deliver a TED-style talk at the end of the year. The community is welcome and each student outlines the work they have done, the change they made and how people can get involved. It is a hugely important moment for each student.
This year we are adding another element: Students wrote short articles for the Light about their efforts. Local newspapers are vital for the health of communities, and I want my students to build a relationship with our paper and learn how to communicate their ideas in a journalistic format. As they study American history and democracy, participating in the free press gave them another real-life experience.
Our eighth graders are coming of age at a challenging time in history. It is easy for them to feel powerless, and they make their worlds small by counting likes and follows, something they can control, an easy validation. The Change Project gives them the tools to tackle real problems and helps them learn to use those likes and follows as a force for good. It is important for adults to listen and support young people in this process. When we believe in them, they can accomplish anything.
Gun violence must end
By Gillian Berg, Solon Moore and Newton Vicente
We are eighth-grade students from Lagunitas Middle School in San Geronimo, and we are currently working on a year-long assignment called the Change Project. This is where you choose a subject that is important to you and make a positive change in your community. Our topic is gun safety.
Every day, about 316 people are shot and 106 of those are killed. That’s over 115,300 people in a single year who fall victim to gun violence in the United States as a result of suicide, domestic violence, murder or unintentional shootings. We are specifically trying to prevent gun suicide and unintentional shootings by reducing the number of guns in our area. To start, we want to raise awareness. We are trying to educate people on how to safely store their guns and where you can dispose of one when you don’t want it in your home anymore.
We reached out to District Attorney Lori Frugoli and met several times on Zoom with Kara Conners, who works for the county in suicide prevention; Pellie Anderson, who works with the Marin Gun Safety Collaborative; and the District Attorney herself, discussing ways to keep the community safe and help raise awareness.
The safest way to store your gun is to lock it up separate from ammunition and out of reach of children. This is required by California law. You can ensure your safety by asking an adult about guns in the home before entering. For example, before dropping your child off at their friend’s house, ask their family if they own any guns. You can also pick up a gun lock at your local police station. If you no longer want a gun, contact local law enforcement for ways to safely dispose of it. On June 4, there will be a gun buyback in San Rafael where you can safely sell your gun. For more information, contact the District Attorney’s office.
One of us, Solon, has shot a few guns before, while visiting cousins in Iowa. The destructive power was mind blowing. Everyone knows that guns are devastating, but you truly don’t know the intensity until you shoot one. Shotguns can shatter glass to bits. An assault rifle can cut a whole corn stalk in half with one shot. Others can blast bottles 15 feet in the air.
What can readers do? You could research gun violence statistics if you want to be more educated on the topic. You can also join a community that prevents gun violence. For example, the Men and Boys Action Team works to prevent suicide and provide mental health resources to Marin residents. You can also share the crisis text line, which provides mental health assistance to those who need it. Just text MARIN to 741741. An alternative is the National Suicide Hotline, which is (800) 273.8255.
Forty percent of all states have a law called the “constitutional carry.” This allows people to carry handguns, open or concealed, without consequences. Those states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. The first state to pass this was Vermont. Such a law significantly increases the chance of gun violence. Remember those active shooter drills at school? Those wouldn’t happen as often if gun violence was reduced.
Gun violence is a serious issue that needs the support of our community. With your help, we could prevent more people from getting hurt or killed. If you want to help, spread the word and teach your friends and family how to store their guns safely, or trade it in at a gun buyback.
The value of equine therapy
By Teagan Grimmer and Tyler Coolidge
Equine therapy helps many people with stress and anxiety, and it can build confidence and muscle. It also helps people who have physical and cognitive special needs. A change that we would like to see is more people getting involved in the wonderful community.
We started volunteering at Halleck Creek Ranch in Nicasio, a riding facility that allows people with disabilities to ride. They have so many amazing horses that are well trained and know what they’re doing. Halleck Creek runs off their volunteers; without them they wouldn’t be thriving like they are today. The volunteers help get the horses ready by grooming and tacking up. Once the rider is on the horse there is one leader who leads the horse and either one or two side walkers who walk beside the horse to make sure the rider is stable and centered. There are all different types of leg and body holds that the side walker can do to make the rider safe and more comfortable.
Our experience at Halleck Creek has been very beneficial. The staff is welcoming and supportive. The first day we went there for our orientation we were amazed at how well it was created. They showed us all the tack for each horse, the facility and horses and how to do an emergency dismount. The second time we went was for our first day volunteering and again we were amazed, but not only by how they ran the program but also by the kids’ and adults’ ability to ride considering that they had special needs. We helped get the horses ready for the riders. Then once the horse was ready and the rider was on, we went on a trail ride. It was a flat trail with some creek crossings.
Experts say that horses help so much with emotional support. Equine therapy helps people develop skills like responsibility and confidence. Horses have been used for therapy for a long time. Equine therapy offers people a therapeutic environment that can feel less threatening and more inviting than traditional talking therapy.
This topic matters to us because we believe that horses assist people through their hard times in life. And we believe this because we have seen a positive change when people are around horses. Personally, when we are with the horses we feel calm and like we can escape the stress.
The change we would like to see is more people getting involved with equine therapy. You can do many things to help, such as volunteering at a local ranch, donating to the cause and spreading the word. We are hoping this article helps bring awareness to equine therapy so people know what they can do to help.
Why so few single-track trails for mountain bikers?
By Zane Edwards
One of the best things about growing up in West Marin is mountain biking, which grew its roots back in the ‘70s when people took these old cruisers and went riding off-road. They took their bikes and raced them down a fire road in Fairfax called “Repack,” which got its name because when riders got to the bottom, the coaster brake would be smoking and they would have to repack their hubs.
When I was 5 years old, I started biking. Sometime when I was 8 I started to get into mountain biking. I would go around my neighborhood with a green and black Specialized 24-inch-wheel Hardtail. I would go on a little trail system my friends and I made in front of my house. I would start with the small jumps and drops and slowly move up to bigger features. Now mountain biking is one of my favorite sports. The little trail system has way bigger features now, and I have a blast riding it.
Mountain biking is important because no matter what age you are you can do it, thanks to the e-mountain bikes that have come out in the last few years. People out of shape can get in shape, and older people can ride, have fun and enjoy the nature that surrounds them. But there is something that limits mountain biking here in Marin: We don’t have enough legal single-track trails. Most mountain bikers have probably ridden an illegal trail at one point because of this issue.
When it comes to trail use, one user group is the equestrians. There are no regulations for horses on trails. Yet in wet conditions, hooves cause erosion on trails, and the pockmarks they leave harden when the soil dries and remain there all summer long. I was going up a fire road and there was a muddy section created by horses and the people riding in my group got stuck and had to walk out of it. To this day, the horse prints are still there. Every time a horse goes over that section in the winter when it’s muddy, the mud pit will become deeper. Water pools in this section and causes damage. Some equestrians say that mountain bikers destroy and erode trails, but the horses do way worse damage with their hooves.
There need to be trails for mountain bikers with different skill levels. I also think that some trails should solely be dedicated to mountain biking. When I watch YouTube videos about mountain biking or I travel to places to ride my bike, I notice there are a wide variety of trails, some dedicated to mountain biking alone. In Marin, one will not find such trails. Around here, there needs to be more beginner-intermediate trails, and hard trails with jumps. Mountain bike trails also act like small fire breaks and offer ways to get up to a fire if there is one.
There is an organization that has been fighting to solve this problem for years, called access4bikes.com. I helped A4B on a trail project at San Domenico School, where we carved a trail for San Domenico’s mountain bike and running teams. It will connect to the bottom of the Solstice Trail so bikers and runners don’t have to go on the road. It was fun to watch the trail come together. It was a slow process, but it was all worth it.
A solar panel for a school far away
By Nathan Ferhart
Probably the biggest problem in society right now is climate change. We’ve all heard how we are ruining our planet with the burning of fossil fuels that release CO2 and other greenhouse gasses. But not many people have made meaningful changes that could save our planet. One of the main things stopping us from changing the way we treat our planet is education.
I am a student at Lagunitas Middle School, and I am grateful to have a good education. Even so, a lot of kids in other countries have one main barrier to a decent education: light. You may wonder how that has anything to do with school, learning and studying. Well, imagine I am a student in Kenya, and I walk to school every day for an hour and a half. When I get to school, I am greeted by my friends and teacher. But when I walk into the classroom, it’s almost pitch black. No light. No learning. No education.
You may now be thinking, “There are windows! They must be able to see a little bit!” For the most part you are right, but these windows are usually small and hard to see through. They still have enough light during the day, but most countries that have no power have shorter daylight hours, and therefore cannot complete the full learning experience.
After seeing the effects of having no lights, a man named Hal Aronson started filling suitcases with all the parts needed to run a solar system. Eventually the demand became too much for just him, so he started We Care Solar, an organization that sends solar suitcases around the world to hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps and schools. They have made a big difference to a lot of people’s lives.
A few years later, he started another organization called We Share Solar. He devised a plan to go to different schools in the U.S. and have them build the suitcases. It was a win-win: The kids building would get hands-on experience with solar electricity and circuit building, and the recipients would get solar power to study for tests. “I think the solar suitcase just inspires young people to make a difference in the world and people’s lives,” Aronson said.
About a year ago, I had the pleasure of learning how to build a solar suitcase. The guidebook went in depth into how electricity moves throughout the suitcase. I learned a lot about solar energy in general, and how to make sure it doesn’t explode.
My goal is to spread information about solar power and the schools that don’t have it. Please send this article to friends, family and random people who care about the world. We can’t make changes in the world without proper education. We need to act now. While we still can.
If you want to get involved, visit www.wecaresolar.org and www.wesharesolar.org to donate and learn more.
Sports and their effect on our mental health
By Eben McConnell, Jackson Gaunt and Dillon Parsons
We believe that improving sports systems in schools can greatly improve the learning and social environment. Aside from the physical benefits of sports, there are significant psychological upsides. This includes reduced stress, improved mood and increased confidence. We’re implementing all-school tournaments, renovating our equipment and working with our P.E. teacher to cultivate a fun and supportive sports culture.
Playing sports has been proven to help you deal with stress, and we can all agree that in this global pandemic, our stress levels have increased a thousandfold. Exercise causes the release of chemicals called endorphins that relieve stress and pain. A 2021 study revealed a direct link between playing sports and mental health, which is no surprise. Team sports are extremely beneficial, allowing for growth in skills and a friendly support system. They also help you build skills for later in life, such as sharing credit, working well with people and dealing with a loss.
We chose this topic because we are all passionate about the subject, and we have many good memories about team sports. We want to show others how much better they can make you can feel. (One of us remembers when their baseball team won the championship: It was the happiest we had ever been, and we still remember the overjoyed feelings.)
We have many plans to improve our school sports setting and changes we want to see. We have been arranging tournaments and creating diverse teams that encourage people to work together and form friendships with people who aren’t in their friend groups. One of these moments came when Cahir Brennan, a sixth grader, darted up the pitch for a great attack that ended in a game-winning goal and him getting mobbed by his teammates. We hope that by mixing kids together it will inspire the younger grades to organize similar events in the future. We are also working on upgrading our equipment, which will be available for future students.
Through this article we hope to inspire change in you, our reader. We want you to get involved in organized sports, get out there and exercise for the benefit of your physical and mental health. Encourage your friends and family to do so and spread awareness of the countless benefits of team sports, to help make the best sporting community that we can. Sports have affected the three of us greatly throughout our lives, socially, emotionally and physically, and we hope this helps spread our knowledge and create more positive experiences like ours.
Mental health and Covid
By Sofie Faircloth and Sadie Moors
Our Change Project is on mental health, and specifically how it has been affected by Covid-19. Our change is to bring awareness to people in our community by normalizing mental health issues and letting people who struggle with mental health know they are not alone in their struggles. The change we would like to see would be that kids in our community know how to cope with their mental health, learn tools to use at school or in a situation that can cause stress or anxiety, and feel comfortable talking about their own experiences.
Issues related to mental health are becoming increasingly common among teenagers throughout the United States and globally. Recent studies indicate that approximately one in five teens between ages 12 and 18 suffers from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder. According to recent studies by Hopkinsmedicine.org, an estimated 26 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—about one in four adults—suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at one time. Approximately 18 percent of people ages 18 to 54 in a given year have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders can include panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other fears and phobias.
Everyone has experienced some sort of anxiety. It can manifest in many ways. It can be a funny feeling in your stomach before talking to a room of people, or it can be a noise, smell or a place that triggers traumatic memories that lead to a heightened heart rate, stress or panic attacks.
Our topic matters to us because we both have had struggles with anxiety and have a lot of empathy for people who struggle with these issues. Our personal experiences were really hard, but they got better and we learned how to manage them by using tools that we now want to share with our community.
The most powerful tools we can use are breathing exercises. Simply breathing in and out and focusing on your breath can lower your heart rate and calm you down. Another tool is to name things that are real and true. For example, if you are feeling anxious, stop whatever you are doing and name five things that are red, two things that are blue, etc. Or you can focus on what is true and real around you. Ask yourself what you see, what you smell and what you hear. By focusing on real things instead of fears, you can calm your mind and lessen anxiety.
We have spoken to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grades about what anxiety is and how to cope with it. We have heard from teachers and students that these exercises have been helpful to them and their peers.
You can get involved by spreading awareness in your community. Check up on your friends and family once in a while. We hope to bring awareness to those who struggle, to make it more normalized and to teach kids tools and tips. Another way to get involved is to donate to organizations such as the Trevor Project, an nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Rethink Mental Illness.
Small steps can make a lasting impact
By Colby Ramirez, Dylan Messerschmidt, Robert King and Spencer Lewis
We are working to increase awareness of the various needs of people experiencing homelessness. In our short lives of 13 years, we all have noticed more and more homeless encampments around Marin. We have also noticed an increase in homelessness since Covid started. Living in a community like the San Geronimo Valley has made us appreciate how people can come together to solve large problems through the great work of the members of our community and the community center.
Tackling a big issue such as homelessness can seem like an impossible task, as there are many reasons people become homeless. Breaking down the issue of homelessness would require a true understanding of how financial hardship, the loss of family members, mental illness and distance from one’s family can cause homelessness. We see a small step like donating essential items as one step forward in such a huge crisis in our country.
We have asked for the support of our community to collect essential items to distribute to homeless encampments across Marin. We will be working with the Street Team from Community Action Marin to distribute items to encampments. Please consider donating items like soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, razors toothbrushes and toothpaste or any other item that is essential in your life.
We hope that collecting items from our community and sharing them with those who need them we help in some small way to let people know they are supported. We know we can’t solve the complex problem of homelessness, but we hope that with our efforts we can at least make people a little more comfortable and have access to things they may need.
Food scarcity exists even in Marin
By Natasha Krauss and Parker Jepson
In our community and school, there is tons of food wasted and it’s not properly composted. We know it won’t be easy to get kids to compost, so we wanted to work with our community instead. We would like to see food not wasted or else composted or given to those in need of it. So many people waste food and there are better ways to dispose of it than throwing it all away. Instead of wasting food, you could give it to Extra Food. They serve 8,000 people per week and I’m sure they would love to serve a lot more.
We started volunteering at the San Geronimo Church and the local food pantry every Sunday. Their small group is a part of Extra Food, and many other small local food groups work with them. They provide all the produce for the San Geronimo pantry so they can send it to their community. We get to package the food and make sure it’s all good to give to people.
We have also been working with Extra Food. They describe themselves as “rescuing” extra food from local businesses and getting it into the hands of those who need it. If you run a local food based-business, they would love to help you make sure any extra food makes its way to local families or nonprofits.
Their organization has many events that anyone can help with. They have food drives, they donate to grocery stores and community centers, and they deliver food to those who need it. Their website is full of many opportunities to volunteer and donate, and even shows you how to dispose of food. There are other ways to get involved that are easier and take less effort but make a huge impact. So much food is thrown away that is completely edible, and when people save that food, less is wasted and it goes to a better place.
Wildfire prevention
By June Ritter
During the summer of 2020, I started interval running every morning. It was a comfort to have the same routine: Getting up, stripping off pajamas, putting on clothes, popping in headphones and sliding out the door into nature. It was a way to build structure in our shaken world, and I relished the thump of my feet hitting broken concrete in sync with the beat of the music. However, no matter how many mornings I ran or how well I paced myself, by the end of my stretch, my lungs would feel taut and tired. But my airways weren’t blocked with just fatigue: it was also the dark, swirling smoke from wildfires that pervaded our area. Looking back on that eventful year, I realized that one of the few things that brought me strength and serenity was being obstructed by a climate crisis.
Growing up in the Bay Area, I am used to dry winters, when rain is a godsend and summers are so hot that asphalt can give you burns on the bottoms of your feet. Yet the most dreadful part of summer is wildfire season. In 2020, almost 59,000 fires burned 10.1 million acres, 40 percent of them in California. In 2021, 3,629 buildings were destroyed because of fires. A majority of the atrocious forest fires have happened in the past five to 10 years. Why?
Maria Schmitt, a member of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, says most of the wildfires that start in Marin are easily prevented. “The way people keep their landscaping and yards, so overgrown and tucked away in trees, makes us prone to wildfires,” she said. Brian McCarthy, co-chair of VERG, a volunteer organization whose mission is to prepare the San Geronimo Valley residents for natural disasters, said, “Even small things like overgrown hedges, dry weeds and out-of-date buildings can be extremely dangerous.”
Maria and Brian are part of the ongoing push for a safe and protected community. The M.W.P.A. formed two years ago and consists of 17 agencies. Their goal is “wildfire prevention, not suppression,” as Maria pointed out. The group focuses on fire inspections, vegetation management and notifying residents to keep their property up to date under state protocol.
VERG was started in the 1970s by the scientist Basha Quiligi and was handed over to Brian McCarthy in 2008 with guidance from the fire department. “We’re really just there to support the fire department. You can never have too many hands,” Brian said. Many responders are volunteers because firefighters are called for other problems. “We want to have people take care of themselves, so the fire department can get to important tasks,” explained Brian.
After meeting with both Maria and Brian, I was intrigued to learn more about how our community can help protect itself in case of a natural disaster.
“Keeping up to date with prescribed fires, hardening your property’s defenses against fuel breakouts and asking your local department to do an inspection is a great place to start,” Maria advised. “People don’t understand what’s going on. We haven’t been able to do many prescribed fires because they are stressed out that their house will burn down.”
Even though that is a completely understandable reaction, controlled fires help decrease the chance of a wild one ruining your property. “By carefully burning the overgrowth, we give the fires less fuel, therefore resulting in less intense fires,” Maria said.
VERG’s website has a page dedicated to preparing people for fire, from putting together emergency bags and evacuation plans to signing up to get alerted when disasters happen. “It really is a community effort. We’re there to support that community,” Brian said. There are so many ways to prepare ourselves, all we have to do is ask for the resources.
Even though we are now in the midst of 2022, that summer two years ago remains clear in my memory. There were happy times of going to the beach and having a sunburn so barbarous that sleeping on my stomach was the only option, and hiking with people with whom I made everlasting friendships. Yet I also remember the orange skies, temperatures so hot that I would be sweating as I slept and smoke so thick you could swirl it with your hand. All these things even out, right? The good and the bad?
But what happens when it doesn’t even out? What happens when our days of relaxation turn into an apocalypse? Our lungs are burning, our chests heaving and our heads spinning because of these fires. If we do not do anything about it, our home of rolling hills, rich green forests and blue lakes will be nothing but a pile of dust and ash. I ask you, for future generations, for our beautiful valley, and for yourselves, help keep Marin County safe by taking part in wildfire prevention.
Reducing plastic waste
By Phoenix Yudice
Plastic and trash waste in our environment is a big problem because it contributes to climate change and is killing ocean life. We produce so much plastic at our school and community, contributing to our dying planet. I would like to reduce the waste in my school and community and educate people about the problem and how to solve it.
During the 1960s, plastic was thought to be a miracle because it was cheap, versatile, sanitary and easy to manufacture into a variety of forms, so it started to be mass-produced. In the 1970s, people started to realize how much of a problem it is. They started to see how making plastic created fossil fuels and was heating our climate. They also found plastic in sea life. There is so much plastic in the ocean, and the planet is heating up and a big reason is plastic.
If plastic pollution gets worse, the human race will go extinct. The conditions on earth will get so bad we will not be able to live here. There is a blanket over the earth and fossil fuels can’t get out. If too many fossil fuels get trapped in our atmosphere, we won’t be able to live on this planet, and nothing will. I don’t know about you, but I want to live on earth and I want future generations to be able to live here, too.
In my school and community, I would like to reduce the trash that we produce. I’m trying to educate people about why plastic pollution is a problem and how to fix it. I’m planning a field trip with my class to the Marin Resource Recovery Center to look at where our trash is going and what really happens to it. I want students to use less plastic and be more aware of the damage it causes to our environment. I want everybody to know which can to put their waste in. If you put your waste in the wrong can, that means that recyclable items will not be recycled or compostable items will not be composted. I’d like to do other things in my school, like educating students on how to sort their trash and compost.
Not using single-use plastics makes a big difference. Recycling conserves energy, reduces air and water pollution, reduces greenhouse gasses and conserves natural resources. If you don’t recycle, hard plastic, metal and paper go to the dump and take so much longer to biodegrade, and it’s the same with composting food waste.
Making eco swaps for everyday items, such as using beeswax wraps or food huggers instead of plastic wraps, natural loofah plant sponges instead of plastic sponges, or metal or glass straws instead of plastic straws, makes a difference. Shopping in bulk is good for the environment and you. Just doing your best to avoid buying plastic makes a difference.
I want people to make a change in their life to help the environment and help our planet stay alive. People need to know what actually happens to their trash and how to help. We all must act now to save our planet.
Teen drug abuse
By Aiden Parker and Luca Smith
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 4,777 Americans aged 15 to 24 years old died of an overdose of illicit drugs in a year. We know several people in our community who have overdosed due to drug abuse. The change we would like to see is more education for youth around drug use and its consequences.
More than half of overdose deaths are due to fentanyl. To die, one only needs to take in 0.07 ounces of fentanyl, which the National Center for Drug Abuse says is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Fentanyl is being used more and more in the creation of many different drugs. It is important to understand that synthetic opioids are a serious threat to people experimenting with drugs.
Every other week, we participate in the Marin County Youth Court, a program that focuses on restorative justice for teenagers, because we want to understand the justice system for people our age. Through this experience we’ve learned that youth should not be punished for using drugs; instead, they should be helped through a process of finding other hobbies and getting mental health support.
Almost every teen will be faced with one or many illegal drugs in their time. Even we have been faced with drugs and have had to make hard decisions. It is important that every teen understands that some decisions you can’t take back. Youth court will send them on a better path by giving them an activity to do, like art or yardwork.
While participating in the program, we have learned that teens don’t have to learn the hard way. Most youth are not in a good mental state and they end up doing reckless things. After they come through youth court, they seem at peace with their sentence and for the most part have accepted what they have done. Youth court is a great way for kids to learn from their mistakes.
Body positivity and feminism
By Nadia Jones
Body positivity and feminism are vast subjects. I strive for young women to feel comfortable in their own skin. To be able to walk down the beach in a bikini without crossing their arms over their abdomen. To have the courage to remove their overshirt with no hesitation before getting in the water. To choose anything on the menu without the worry of their stomach getting bigger. It is disappointing that girls my age or younger worrying about this and the harassment that can happen when they do have the courage to be themselves.
I have been interested in this topic for as long as I can remember. Growing up with an older brother, it was difficult for me to express my style. I was handed down boy clothes, but I didn’t mind. “If boys can wear it, so can I!” my 8-year-old brain thought. I felt proud purchasing clothes from the boy’s section, as if it was a threat to Target’s multibillion-dollar establishment. I have a memory from second grade: I was playing on the play structure when a boy from my class approached me. “Why’re you wearing a boy shirt?” he interrogated. What made it a boy shirt? I liked sharks just as much as boys do.
Last year, Kaitlyn Custer, a sexual health educator, presented a slideshow to my class about consent and boundaries. A spark of interest ignited in my brain. When my teacher assigned us an interview with someone we admire, I chose Kaitlyn. During our interview, she stated, “As a feminine person, I think I and a lot of women get messages growing up like ‘To be good and to be valuable it’s important to be in tune with the needs of other people and be able to meet those needs. If you act on your own, you’re selfish and it’s not good to do something for yourself.’ Which can be very disempowering.” In other words, to be a real woman, you must put other people’s needs before yours. If you do the opposite, you’re unwomanly and selfish.
The basis of body positivity is loving yourself for who you are. However, it is difficult to achieve that confidence when society sees “fat” as a negative term. People have different metabolism levels. If you have a slow metabolism, losing weight is nearly impossible, yet if your metabolism is high, gaining weight is difficult. You can say, “Love yourself for who you are.” That message is great, but there will always be people in this world who judge you. To fight this, we need to develop an immunity to negative comments. To acquire inner happiness, we can’t shield ourselves from hatred. We need to absorb it, allow the ache. That will make the positive outcome stronger.
Anybody can take action on this. With modern-day technology, spreading awareness to large crowds is easily achievable. Even watching a single TikTok video helps immensely. There are dozens of social media creators who show the part of themselves others hide, and embrace it. Seeing somebody who looks like you genuinely loving their body makes a greater impact than anything else. If you have access to social media, I encourage you to search for these users: @clara_dao, @spencer.barbosa and @imnotbunny. The kinds of videos these women make show their most unliked areas and create beauty out of them. They reveal themselves for the entire internet to see. Their bravery is incredibly inspiring. That is the power we should all strive to accomplish. It is within all of us; we just need the tools to reveal it.
Body comparison through social media: Perfectly imperfect
By Anali Stieg
For as long as I can remember, competitive gymnastics has been a huge part of my life. It was a familiar space to rely on, a world to test my abilities, to push myself with all of my strength until I was standing at the top of the podium. Although I am endlessly grateful for the resilience it has provided me, I’m aware of the way gymnastics can tear people down. It can whisper into their subconscious mind, convincing girls they have to fit into a tiny mold to be a gymnast. There is a constant measure of one’s body to another’s. A doubt and questioning of whether they’ll ever feel worthy, if they’ll ever feel beautiful. I remember, at 8 years old, while standing in a room overflowing with girls of lean bodies and abs, toned arms and muscular thighs, deeply observing the body that stood below me.
Now, as a middle school student at Lagunitas, I have been researching body image. I’m specifically intrigued by body comparison on social media and the effect it has on teenage girls. My goal is to stop the negative self-talk and shattered body image in all the girls I can reach. Along with educating myself, I want to teach every one of them to accept themselves as perfectly imperfect.
Women around the world experience body acceptance issues, not just because of gymnastics or other sports. The source of girls’ self-esteem slipping away is far more pervasive and is currently becoming part of us through the online world of social media. Glamor Magazine once stated that 80 percent of women in America are dissatisfied with their looks, and 97 percent of women globally have at least one negative thought about their bodies every day. These facts are upsetting, frightening almost. Social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok commonly show one side of the story and viewers are pushed to believe that their whole life is filled with perfect moments. People share their all-time bests, their highlights, yet sources have shown that 71 percent of people edit their selfies. When girls grow up believing what they see in the filtered world online, they are pushed to think of themselves as inadequate.
I remember the time I compared my body to others. I sat on the dark blue floor of my familiar gym and focused down on my thighs, which had allowed me to dance, run, tumble and fly through the air. My legs gave me talent and power, yet all I saw when I looked at them were their width. I cringed at the natural way they shook when I stood.
My mind overflowed with emotions of dissatisfaction. “Hey, come here guys,” I called to two teammates in an 8-year-old’s timid voice. I placed my youthful body next to both girls and stared. I gaped from my legs to their legs, noting all the differences. I painfully observed the girl to my right and how her legs were longer and thinner. To my left, I was envious how the girl’s legs had more muscle and lines. I didn’t understand that all I was seeing was the organic contrast between body types.
Last year, I had the honor of interviewing Isabella Welch, who taught me that it is still possible to change the relationship between social media and girls. Isabella is a powerful woman who was born with a rare and severe facial cleft, leaving her lip attached to her eye. She has persevered through 23 surgeries in her 26 years of life. Isabella learned to live without hiding. She embraced her beauty and let the world see her imperfections. “I think your uniqueness is what makes you really cool,” she told me in her upbeat tone. “It’s important to know your worth so deep inside you, in those moments that test it, you can see beyond that.”
With the pressure of social media, people have let the meaning of beauty drift. There’s an invisible border that humans push and fight to reach to believe they are beautiful. Long torsos, dainty legs, small waist, big boobs and round butt. The truth is, beauty is in our hands. Isabella reminded me that you are the single person who can choose to either accept yourself or let the imaginary idea of perfection shatter you.
It’s not social media alone or the things people share that lead to body image difficulties, and our media platforms are not going to leave. The world online is only going to expand, with more apps and ways to access new things. But when girls view others online and their self-esteem is at a low place, that is when the exhausting comparison begins, the obsession to look exactly like her.
All my life I compared myself to those who surrounded me. Whether it was in the gym or looking at my phone, I was unconsciously wishing for more than I possessed. I’ve walked the world with long, muscular legs, a thin torso, abs and toned arms. I hold the body that some strive for. Yet at times, I looked in the mirror and hated my broad shoulders or wished for more curves and bigger hips. My mom told me how she used to deal with a similar feeling daily. At some point, she understood that it’s hard to feel complete. “Everybody wants what they don’t have,” she explained to me, her voice calm and collected. “It’s just about loving your body, taking care of it, and accepting it.” If I didn’t have this voice of hers telling me that it’s okay not to be perfect, I don’t know how I’d be today.
Change happens over time. It will take a lot of effort, but I am beginning to discover ways to make a difference. I am starting a group in my school where anyone is welcome to pour out thoughts or emotions. I wish to be the inspiration for young girls the way Isabella and my mom have been for me. Statistics have shown that having someone to talk to relieves stress while building connections and friendships. Hearing another voice introduces a new perspective on whatever someone may be facing.
I am also doing parent education nights covering the effects of social media on youth. What their children are viewing, what the popular apps are and the impacts they have, along with personal experiences and coping mechanisms. Without knowledge, social media can be like gymnastics in the way it can tear someone down. I want to see it become a world of acceptance and authenticity, where young people can connect to others without feeling less than. This can only happen through education.
We can also create more opportunities for kids to engage in positive activities. If schools offer adventures that connect the kids to nature and their peers while taking them away from screens, it would benefit their mental state.
Change is being made, but there is more work to do, and you can help. We need to challenge the system and show social media both sides of the story. Your highest and your lowest moments, posed and unposed, and every body type. Lift others up with every chance you get. Talk to another person and discover their voice in this. Find friends who can relate, and use your voice against body discrimination. Pledge against unrealistic, filtered and fake body standards. Question and speak out if you hear offensive comments or jokes. Put pressure on people, brands and companies that exclude body types. I hope to never hear of another circumstance where comparison tears a little girl down.
Life as a trans youth
By Eris Vurek
I am a queer trans youth living in Marin, and my topic is pronouns. Transphobia coming from all sides to young trans kids discourages them from coming out and being themselves. I would like to see trans kids not being made fun of for their names, their pronouns or their appearance.
Trans kids are often mistreated in school, online and out in the world. They can get misgendered, harassed and in some places even attacked purely for being themselves. A study from 2018 in Minnesota indicated that as much as 3 percent of ninth through 11th graders (81,000 teens) identify as trans or gender nonconforming. The study also found that these kids had worse mental and physical health than other kids.
I have been lucky enough to find a support group and some people on social media helping kids be themselves and defending them. But even if a TikTok video is positive, it doesn’t mean the replies will be. On these accounts, the replies are usually cruel and uncalled for, and way too harsh. Lots of people tell the creator to kill themself, or tell others to kill themselves, and that’s clearly not okay.
Recently, I was called a racial slur online for being trans and Asian. It was completely out of the blue and uncalled for. A random person on TikTok found my page and started leaving racial slurs on all of my posts and I’ve since had to block the word from my comments so it can no longer be said. This happens way more often than you’d think, and is also way more damaging than it sounds, especially to someone already struggling. At the same time, a large portion of people are completely desensitized to it.
Racial and other slurs are only a portion of the hate trans kids get online. A decent amount of the hate online comes from older trans people who think they are somehow better because they are older and supposedly know more. These people tend to be millennials on TikTok who have nothing better to do than harass children online. They tend to make fun of trans kids for their names and pronouns because these older people have names and pronouns that are “normal” rather than creative.
And that’s just online. In some places, kids can get harassed and sometimes attacked. I’ve seen plenty of videos of kids recording people harassing them and calling them slurs and saying other cruel things, just because those kids were existing in the same space.
I encourage you to go looking for people on social media who talk about trans issues. The Spahr Center website is an amazing resource for learning about overall queer issues and the Trevor Project is a good source for statistics on queer teens’ mental health.
Recently, Texas passed a law that states that all parents helping their kids with gender-affirming health care will be considered child abusers. This will cause significant mental anguish among trans youth because gender-affirming health care is also mental health care. Being denied that feels like a fundamental denial of who these kids and families are.