From the time women are young girls, they are bombarded with messages about how they are supposed to look and behave. These directives significantly affect the way they feel. The pressure to be a certain type of person is a significant drain on a woman’s self-esteem and self-confidence.

To gain a better understanding about how societal messages impact young women, I spoke with Sadie Radinsky, an 18-year-old blogger who has touched the lives of girls and women worldwide with her award-winning website wholegirl.com. Sadie is a major voice in a new generation of people redefining wellness. During our conversation, Sadie offered ideas, advice, and practices for young women to help them celebrate all of themselves. She is the author of the book, Whole Girl: Live Vibrantly, Love Your Entire Self, and Make Friends with Food.

Here is some of what Sadie said:

On a healthy view of food:

Our relationship with food as teen girls is often so strained because we are conditioned by society to view food as this shameful thing we have to contend with. But a positive experience with food made me realize that it has so much to offer us.

On the impact of social media:

Social media is literally an algorithm designed to make us feel inadequate so that we stay hooked. The “Like” button and the “Follow” button automatically make us feel inadequate. We compare ourselves to other people’s bodies, to productivity, to business, to everything. It makes us feel like we’re not enough in every facet of our lives.

On accepting uncertainty:

From a very young age we’re asked by adults: what do you want to be when you grow up? And this can be very overwhelming. There is so much pressure to have it figured out. We don’t have to have everything figured out and there is something magical about being okay with the uncertainty. Things can arise that we never imagined. This is more relevant than ever because of the pandemic. We don’t know what tomorrow is going to be like.

On being okay with ourselves:

You’re whole and complete right now!

Listen to my conversation with Sadie

This interview was edited and condensed by CYACYL. For more information on the CYACYL Book Club and on how to become a member, visit cyacyl.com/bookclub