I Am Guiding: Eilidh Leheny

Eilidh Leheny, an 11-year-old member of the 4th Edinburgh Guides, created and shared a presentation on body image with her unit.

Ever felt negative about how you look like? I know I have. But some people don’t know how much easier life would be if they were positive. You see, some people just hate themselves. That’s when I come in.

I’ve gone through it, too. I have a condition called Enamel Hypoplasia. That means the enamel on my teeth is very thin and because of that, they appear yellow. I thought I wasn’t good enough and I put lots of pressure on myself to be perfect. That’s when I realised that nothing’s going to change with putting pressure on myself. The only thing I can change is how I see myself.

Now I am campaigning to raise awareness of positive body image. (You might have seen me in the news [link].) But it’s not just me. You can, too! How about asking you group (Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, or Rangers) about doing a session about learning the importance of positive body image? Maybe you could do a talk or make a PowerPoint [presentation] to show them? Or can you think of another way to spread the word?

I have some ideas for positive body image:

1. Write down positive things that you like about yourself and put them in a jar. Then, every day you can wake up and see something nice.
2. Write down positive things about yourself and stick them up around your bedroom/house and then you will be surrounded with kindness, literally!
3. When you have time, sit and make [a list of] compliments about yourself.

So there’s some ideas about what you could do. But it’s not just physical stuff; it’s also mental. None of this will work if you don’t think positive. So just do. I promise you that if you only think more positive then you will feel much better.

Lots of positivity and hope,

Eilidh xxx

P.S. I love cats and chocolate. Do you?