Media Appearances

Self-esteem: channel your inner rock star!

by Vicki Salemi

She’s hip. She’s inspirational, better yet she’s real. And yes, she’s America’s “Queen of Self-Esteem”. Meet Jessica Weiner, best-selling author, advice columnist, and self-esteem expert. By inspiring millions of women and teens to become Actionists TM by taking action in their everyday lives, it’s no wonder why her genuine personality and insightful ways have transformed the issue of self-esteem into a household word.

The author of “Life Doesn’t Begin Five Pounds From Now”, “A Very Hungry Girl” and “Do I Look Fat in This?” was recently named the Global Ambassador for the Dove Self-Esteem Fund (DSEF); Jess will play a
pivotal role in the campaigns both here and overseas. She also endorses the Body Peace Project which aims for people to sign peace treaties with their bodies. As the self-esteem expert on The Tyra Banks Show and online columnist for Real Girls/Real Advice on Mary-KateandAshley.com, Jess’s advice is read by over one million tween and teens in ten countries!
We caught up with the exciting actionist to talk about maintaining your self-esteem while you’re in college.
“I define self-esteem as how you see yourself and how the world sees you,” she explains. In college there are countless ways to build your self-esteem. Essentially it is increased by staying in touch with who you are, she attests. Whether it’s getting a good night’s sleep, eating healthy, speaking your mind, and taking care of yourself, she notes, “It’s really easy to get caught up in the social scene…there’s pressure to eat food like pizza at 3 am but there’s also pressure to succeed and strive to be perfect.”

Jess reminds us problems may arise since guess what? There’s no such thing as perfection! “People may try to achieve various goals which aren’t realistic.” This could result into a spiral of negative behavior such as getting a B on an exam which is still good but disappointed it wasn’t an A. As for her advice? Look at your whole life and not just the academic piece by realizing there are more pieces involved such as volunteerism, spirituality, your family. If you visualize it like a wheel, you can see how balanced your life is by looking at all of the dimensions, not just one or two.
While it’s important to remember being in college is an important and powerful part of your life, it’s not your whole life. Each piece of the wheel is important as it encompasses you as a person. Keeping this in mind is very important as students get to make new choices, smart moves, and feel good about how they contribute to campus. That’s the key – getting involved on campus.

As volunteerism flourishes on campus, the new self-esteem columnist for Seventeen Magazine explains, “Giving back is an extraordinary way to build self-esteem. Do esteemable acts.” Examples include volunteering at school or getting involved with a fraternity or sorority with a community component, simply get out there and do what you love. For instance, there are majors which have a philanthropic slant and there’s the ability to combine what you love doing with giving back.

Essentially getting involved equates to being an actionist! “An actionist is someone who takes action in their every day life…they listen to their roommate talk about their bad day or they host a dance marathon,” says Jess. Essentially, an actionist is motivated and self-sufficient. They create opportunities, they get involved, and they see their life as a whole instead of focusing on one or two parts. For instance, the green movement on campus right now is flourishing; it’s an environmentally-friendly way to make a difference and feel good about yourself.

There are countless ways to get involved in campus no matter how big or small. Volunteering at a local senior center, doing community service in a soup kitchen – whatever time you can devote to a volunteer activity is one sure way to build your self-esteem.

Being in college is an extraordinary time in anyone’s life and while there are academic pressures (whether it’s peer pressure, self-pressure or pressure instilled by your parents to do well), it also creates opportunities to get caught up in a variety of things such as dangerous dating scenes. As pressures may seem overwhelming at times in college to balance the academic course load, friendships, relationships, and activities, overall Jess reminds us to love the skin we’re in.

Vicki Salemi is the editorial director of CollegeRover.com. She's also a regular contributor to the AOL Body channel and writes frequently about careers and education. Vicki blogs about workplace topics on WomenforHire.com and Manhattan adventures on BigAppleBytes.com. She's also the author of The ABC's of College Life.