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My Favorite Girl


This is my favorite girl. She may look a little tired in this pic, but she deserves to - we'd just hiked the trail to Timpanogos Cave on Saturday. She's becoming my regular hiking buddy. Makes me happy.

She's a very beautiful girl. I make a point of telling her that every chance I get. However, I also make a point of telling her that her beauty is one where who she is is what makes her so beautiful. I tell her that her intelligence, wit, and personality are sparkling and beautiful, and that the choices she makes regarding her spirituality and lifestyle also make her radiant and lovely.

I'm just her dad, so I don't know how much of it really gets to her.

But one thing I am sure of - we have a great relationship and we talk about a lot of things. On the way home from the hike, we talked at length about her goals for her life, relationships with boys (even sex), modesty, and what she would like to find in a husband. I told her that she should be careful and selective in her choices, making sure that the one she chose to spend her life with was someone who would support her in her choices and goals, and not someone who would demand that she abandon what she wants to support him. I've tried to be a good example of that, supporting her mother in her education and career choices.

I worry about her. I worry that she's growing up in a world where women - especially passionate, creative, and driven women - are viewed with fear (?) (not sure if that's the right word). Mostly people don't know what to do with these kinds of women. The answer, of course, is simple - love them, celebrate them, and encourage them in their endeavors. At very least, we could stop trying to actively wear them down.

I read an article on ksl.com - here's a link (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=31564541&nid=1010&title=teaching-your-daughter-about-body-image&s_cid=queue-1). It was an interesting article, with not much new - at least to me. But it was affirming in how I've come to understand approaches to body image for young women.


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