Why not just be yourself?

When I look into the mirror, I see a reflection of the real me, not a reflection of a model in a magazine. The reflection shows who I am and who I will always be.
During our teen years, we try hard to fit in and not be left out, but with all the advice the magazines are throwing our way, it's hard to keep up. It seems like no matter where you turn, there's always an example that the media sets for teens to live up to.
A lot of it has to do with physical appearance and what we should look like. For girls, there are models in magazines that show you have to be tall and skinny and have no blemishes. For guys, bodybuilders or athletes show you that you have to have a lot of muscle.
Although these models are not a direct cause for some of the problems teens face, they do have an effect.
For instance, one of the biggest reasons that teens become anorexic or bulimic is because we are being pressured into an ideal image. We want a quick and easy way to reach this image, so we starve ourselves.
What happens: This same image causes more stress for teens who are trying to keep up with schoolwork, sports, friends and family.
As if it isn't enough to do well at everything, we have to look good physically at the same time.
Most girls who walk around high school looking like the teen models in magazines probably didn't start out like that. There are a lot of diet supplements like pills, food or programs that change the real you into someone else.
So, when you look at these girls and your opinion or self-esteem of yourself drops, make sure you pick it back up because even these girls aren't perfect.
As a teen, I always think about what it would be like to lose all this weight on a diet. It's not worth it. Think about all the headaches or nausea that come as side effects. Would you rather lose weight and be sick or stay the way you are and be perfectly healthy?
Now is the time for us to cherish our last bit of childhood and have fun, not try to kill ourselves over an image.
Another problem: A lot of the models today also advertise certain brands of clothing that you have to wear to be "cool." For a lot of teens, this means that we have to wear these clothes to be popular or be with the "in-crowd."
The truth is, clothes are clothes and eventually they will wear out, so why wear name brands when you might look better in the blue-light special.
We all were born differently and as hard as some of us try to be like these models, it's never going to happen.
What we need from these magazines is for them to show us that it's OK to be who you are, and who you are is the person you should be comfortable with being.
Don't let some magazines try to tell you what looks good on you because nobody knows you better than yourself.
If you really want to give us role models, give us some that are more like the real us.
XAshlee Zimmerman, 15, is a sophomore at Western Reserve High School, a majorette and a Girl Scout.