Day of Dialogue is an annual event at FVHS in which various organizations come to the school to speak about a wide range of issues. Topics vary from bullying to drug abuse, and discussions are held throughout the school for a day.
This year, I had the opportunity to see Day of Dialogue. The topic was female empowerment. The presentation began with the instructor asking the all-female audience to define beauty. We responded with: “a nice body,” “straight teeth,” or my favorite, “ intelligence.”
Then the instructors showed a slideshow of female celebrities; among them were Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston, and Rihanna. We were asked why we perceived them as beautiful. Girls were allowed to speak openly about their own standards of beauty and discuss their opinions.
The instructors made sure to tell us that celebrity beauty exists because of professional makeup artists, trainers and stylists, all of which cost a great deal of money and use computer technology.
They followed up with a video from the Dove Beauty Workshop and we did an activity in which we tried to differentiate between Photoshopped and non-Photoshopped pictures of celebrities. The instructors spoke about self-confidence and the high beauty standards perpetrated by the media. They emphasized about the importance of seeking the truth and self-acceptance.
The instructors passed out index cards and markers and told us to write the ten best things about ourselves. As the instructors blasted Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are,” girls wrote that they liked their hair, their personality, their kindness. The instructors told us to put the card in a place where we could see it and feel inspired.
As my first Day of Dialogue, I found the experience a little cheesy, peppered with mantras such as “Love yourself” or “Everyone is beautiful from the inside out.” But I couldn’t help but leave feeling empowered and enlightened. There’s a reason Day of Dialogue is a long-standing FVHS tradition.
