Teen Week: Words That Heal is an annual blog series that occurs the last week of March, where bloggers use their sites speak out about their experiences with body image, sexuality, and self-esteem during their teen years. The series was started in 2011 after it came to my attention that there was an enormous population of teen readers out there looking for body-loving-inspiration, but much of the material floating around the blogosphere was aimed to adults.

And, well, because I was once a teenager who could have benefited from a few fabulous role models.

Think of it as a sort of It Gets Better campaign, but we’re talking self-esteem, sex, and bodies – all with a heavy dose of inspiration.

Read all of the Teen Week 2011 posts here.

2012 Teen Week Participants:

1. MizFitOnline – Teen Week: Words That Heal
2. Size and Substance – If I Could Give Advice To My Teenage Self
3. Kaleigh Somers, My Story + HUGStronger
4. Curvy Yoga – What I’d Say to the Teenage Me
5. MishMarieG – The Question That Started it All
6. Miles to Run – Letter to my Teenage Self
7. Soft Explosions, What I Wish I Had Known As a Teenager
8. Cynosure, I’m an Introvert, Not an Alien
9. Alice Oates, Sexuality, Self-Confidence, and Being a Teenager
10. Sue Ann Gleason, The Untold Stories
11. Musings of Magick, Lessons From An Overactive Brain
12. Body Positive Yoga, Letter to My Teenage Self
13. MishMarieG, Pizzazz
14. Rosie Molinary, It’s Not Too Early or Too Late
15. Chibi Jeebs, Teen Week 2012: Words That Heal
16. Those Graces, Body Image, Weight, and the Internet
17. Diet Schmiet, A Letter From 16 Year-Old Me [Part One], [Part Two], [Part Three]
18. Tutus and Converse, You ARE Perfect
19. Adorkable Undies, Me, In Grade Nine
20. The Headologist, Don’t Let The Fuckers Get You Down
21. I <3 To Eat, It’s Tough Being a Teenager
22. Real Fit Mama, Teen Week 2012 [Part One], [Part Two], [Part Three], [Part Four], [Part Five]
23. KCLAnderson, Overcoming Suckiness
24. Katie McClain, The Truth About Bullying
25. Jes Lacasse, If I Knew Then What I Knew Now
26. Alle Malice, Everything I Didn’t Know When I Was Growing Up & Wish I Did
27. Tara Cousineau, PhD [Bodimojo], Body Image Blues: When Skinny is Not Beautiful
28. Creative Soul in Motion, Advice to My Teenage Self
29. Veda Sun, Choose You and Choose to be Happy
30. An Empowered Life, Letter to my Teen Self
31. Musings of Magick, Rhiannon’s Story
32. That Fucking Hippy, There are no Rules: Make Your Own
33. Rosie Molinary, There’s enough. Don’t worry. Don’t compete.
34. Cookie, The Locker Combination
35. Fan the Ember, A Letter to Teenage Me (And Me Now)
36. Emmanuelle Lambert, I Used to be Fat
37. MishMarieG, 10 Things I’d Said to My Teen-Self and Teens Now
38. Living a Creative Life, Letter to My Teenage Self
39. Weightless, What I’d Tell My Teenage Self About Body Image & Life
40. Paranormal Avians, Flowing Like a River, Evolving all the Way
41. A Blog With No Name, Little, A Letter to my Fourteen Year old Self
42. Bodimojo, Teen Week: Words That Heal
43. Golda Poretsky [Body Love Wellness], Teen Week: Fatness, Weirdness, and Other Stuff
44. Becky’s Kaleidoscope, Being a Big-Busted Girl as a Teenager [Part One], [Part Two], [Part Three]
45. Christine Castigliano, Deeper Than You Know: Letter to My Teenage Self
46. Open Roads Coaching, Old Wounds, New Wisdom
47. ParisianFeline, Boys, Breasts, and Self-Esteem
48. Living Lean and In The Green, A Soft Answer: The Bully Story
49. Persipicacity, Finger Prints are OK
50. Marzipan, Unfortunate, Ugly, and Inspiring Adventures From my Life as a Teenager
51. Creative Soul in Motion, Teen Week: Dream Big
52. Anonymous, Dear Young People
53. Ms. Mettle, Already Good Enough
54. Melanie Klein [on Proud2BMe], Hey, Teen me! I’m Grateful For You. 
55. Musings, Coping With Time
56. Christine Castigliano, Deeper than you know: Letter to my teenage self

Want to get involved?

We would love to have you! During the week of March 26 – 30th, 2012, I encourage you to write a post for your site about your experiences with body image and self-esteem during adolescence. Here are a couple of topic ideas:

• Making it through high school with your self-esteem in tact
• Someone who was a particular body image hero for you during that time
• The impact of bullying on body image and self-esteem
• The pros and cons of friendship: from negative self-talk to banding together in solidarity
• Early concepts of gender roles
• Teen relationships, sex, and body image

If none of these tickle your fancy and you are absolutely stuck, give me a shout and I will help you think up something fantastic.

Please include either of the images below in your post, or embed a link to this page so that readers recognize the project and can find other Teen Week 2012 posts. As posts are being published, I will create a directory of all of the participants on this page to direct readers to all of your lovely stories.

For the sake of ease, I have included the HTML for these images right below – just copy and paste into your post and you will be all set!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. xoxo.

<a href="http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/body-lovin-projects/teen-week/"><img title="teenweekbanner" src="http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/teen-week.png" alt="" width="700" height="200" /></a>

<a href="http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/body-lovin-projects/teen-week/"><img title="teenweekbadge" src="http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/teen-week-small.png" alt="" width="200" height="200" /></a>

Loving this project so much, you’ve just GOT to tell all of your friends about it?

• I’m pledging to write about my teen body image + self-esteem experiences! Have you taken the pledge yet?? http://bit.ly/wYZRvH #teenweek

• Take part in @mmarzipan’s Teen Week: Words That Heal blog project. Get all the details here: http://bit.ly/wYZRvH #teenweek

• Fight to end adolescent weight-stigma and low self-esteem! Check out Teen Week: Words that Heal. http://bit.ly/wYZRvH #teenweek

• I’m a body image warrior + role model, are you? http://bit.ly/wYZRvH #teenweek

• Teen Week: Words That Heal – bloggers speak out about weight stigma and of low self-esteem during adolescence http://bit.ly/wYZRvH #teenweek

Don’t forget to tweet your own post with the #teenweek hashtag, so that we can scurry on over to give your post some love!

Special thanks to:

All of those participating – your voices truly do make a difference. Amber Karnes, the amazing body-positive yogini, for donating her fabulous services in designing this year’s banner and badge.