Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
Growing up in the 90s
I'm seeing myself in a whole new light
I spent a big portion of one year feeling quite out of control. It seemed as if I was constantly being tossed about from one challenge to another, and at the same time feeling tremendous self-doubt and insecurity. As a result, I became extremely preoccupied with my physical appearance and how I was coming across to other people. I sought various ways to manipulate my outward appearance, thinking I could somehow convince myself that I was capable and show others I "had it all together." After a good six months of allowing myself to eat only enough to exist, I traded this for something else that, for me, also avoided the issue—strenuous daily exercise.
For the first time in my life I was very thin and my body looked "in shape"—two very important things according to 1990s cultural standards. People right and left were asking me how I was doing it, reinforcing my feeling of great "accomplishment." The ironic part was that the more I enjoyed basking in this newfound superficial control, the more I felt absolutely weighted down and imprisoned by human laws.

July 19, 1993 issue
View Issue-
from the Editors
The Editors
-
I'm seeing myself in a whole new light
Written for the Sentinel
-
Losing weight
Jill Gooding
-
Love undivided
Eva-Maria Hogrefe
-
Tackling our troubles
Ann F. Searles Cummings
-
Training—physical or spiritual emphasis?
Jürgen Vogt
-
Beyond age, beyond time
Mary Metzner Trammell
-
Spiritual discernment and God's creation
Mark Swinney
-
Running the mile
Ginger K. Mack
-
Late in 1985 my mother saw an article in The Australian Women's Weekly,...
Ghislaine E. Skepton with contributions from Siegfried Skepton
-
The study of Christian Science alerts us to the divine intelligence...
James Marshall Fabian
-
I have been associated with Christian Science for almost...
Kenneth H. Cook with contributions from Jean E. Cook