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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

SMC Love Your Body Week inspires true beauty

Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a five-part series exploring the events and discussions of Saint Mary’s Love Your Body Week, which aims to foster self-confidence and positive body images. 

Love Your Body Week at Saint Mary’s continued Tuesday night with yoga and frozen yogurt in Angela athletic facility, followed by a discussion titled, “True Beauty: A Definition from God” in Vander Vennet theater.Junior Sam Moorhead, Social Concerns Committee chair for the Student Government Association (SGA), said Tuesday’s events were meant to promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image, which are two key goals of the week.

Wendy


“Exercise and nutrition are important factors that influence the way a person views him or herself,” Moorhead said. “Yoga will be a great event to strengthen muscles and promote practices to improve health and happiness.”

This was the second year having a yoga and frozen yogurt event sponsored by Urban Swirl, which is a popular event and positive representation of Love Your Body Week’s goal, Moorhead said.

“We like to include this event because while exercise and a healthy body are essential to a positive self-image, we want students to know that it is okay to indulge in a treat occasionally,” she said. “It is important to find the balance in our lives between exercise and a healthy diet.”

Moorhead said the “True Beauty: A Definition of God” presentation challenged students to consider the ways the media defines beauty in order to gain new perspectives on what being beautiful truly means.

“A new definition of beauty should help students and people of the community develop a more positive body image with a more attainable definition of beauty,” Moorhead said.

Senior Wendy Oduor and Notre Dame sophomore Peace Maari presented the discussion, which was an important dialogue of the religious elements of beauty, Moorhead said.

Wendy Oduor said she volunteered to give a presentation on true beauty to inform students that everyone is beautiful. Oduor is the CEO and founder of the faith-based agency Heshima Couture, an agency that advocates beauty, God and modesty.

Maari said Heshima Couture’s mission is to encapsulate a new definition of what true beauty is.

“Heshima Couture takes pride in modesty and knowing that it is deeper than how we dress, but rather portrays daily respect to God,” Maari said. “Therefore, Heshima Couture aspires to dress today’s men and women in confidence and with an objective to respect God’s temple.” Oduor said beauty shouldn’t count on clothing or the newest trend, it should count on inner beauty.

“Every day you are beautiful,” Odour said. “God fearfully and wonderfully made you … When He created you, He created you fearfully and wonderfully … You are wonderful in every aspect.“You have to start thinking [you’re beautiful, and] you have to train your mind in a sense that I know that my God created me beautifully. When you start thinking it, it becomes a lifestyle and you start seeing it in your everyday life.”

Maari said it’s important to remember our bodies are not our own but are gifts from God.

“We don’t own [our bodies] this is just a loan to us from God,” Maari said. “He has given us the privilege to take his image and dress it and take care of it.”

Odour said the main point she would like students to understand is true beauty comes from the word of God.

“I wish Love Your Body Week was the whole year,” Odour said.

”It puts things into perspective for Saint Mary’s students, that even though you are busy, remember that you are still beautifully and wonderfully made. Love Your Body Week motivates and inspires.