I heard this story on the radio yesterday and thought...REALLY...is this really happening? Those were the first thoughts...the rest will come later.
The story is about a 19 year old female model, I believe, living in California. This 19 year old is beginning to worry about getting old. Worrying about the fact her skin is aging (already) and that other "ugly" signs of aging are starting to show. She feels she needs to do something about this situation. So she is...
She has begun going to the local butcher(S) to collect gallons( yes gallons) of pigs blood. That's right PIGS Blood. She has learned ( in her extensive research) that soaking in pigs blood will help her maintain her youthful "appearance". The story goes on to mention her Grandmother is concerned. I hope there are a lot more people concerned than just her grandmother?!
Now on the surface this story , at the very least, is a bid odd ( If you want more on this story just type in "bathing in pigs blood" and you will get more than you bargained for. I did not delve deeper....you can if you wish?!)
I did dig a little( and I mean a little) to see if this "ritual was performed in the past. Indeed it was. According to the Oxford Illustrated Companion to Medicine- Outside Italy, in 16th century Hungary- the Countess Elizabeth of Bathory- bathed in the blood of hundreds of virgins( of course virgins) in an effort to maintain her youthful beauty.
I'm guessing finding the blood of hundreds of virgins was out of the question for this 19 year old...?
Like I mentioned before, this story is a bit odd( too say the least) what concerns me about this young lady is to what extremes she is going to; the fact she is un-naturally worried about her aging; and how other young girls/women with low self estem may look at this.
To me I see a very troubled young lady with troubling misconceptions of what healthy is. Yeah I could just launch into a comical or mean spirited rant about how "wrong" this young lady is. I would rather sit down with her and have a real conversation about who she is, what is real and what is not and to let her know the person she is and the body God gave her, with all its imperfections and signs of aging, is beautiful.
We are all beautiful, we are all imperfect and nothing will ever change that! Accepting everything about ourselves- the good the bad, the ugly and the sad- is one of the hardest things people have a hard time relating to and doing!
Remember...
YOU ARE THE DIFFERENCE!!!