Gossip pages

The teenage years are the hardest to go through, yet teenagers create so much angst for themselves and their friends by gossiping about each other. When I was at school, the worst thing the gossip-mongers could do was write something nasty on the bathroom wall for other students to see. Now they get to write it on Facebook's wall for the entire world to see.

I spent the morning in my Uni class talking about youth suicide. Self-esteem and self-worth are hard to come by and with hormones raging, keeping teens' heads straight is a battle that is hard-fought, and hopefully won.

So much emphasis is put on appearance in adolescence, and if you don't fit whatever fashion tells us is beautiful right now, it can be damaging to young girls self-esteem. And when I say beauty in fashion, I'm not talking about what's in the magazines. Every era has a different idea about what is considered beautiful. Hair, makeup, clothes, all change constantly. If you don't fit the latest look, just wait. Eventually your look will be envied by all.

But, we need to put the focus back on brains, personality, confidence. We need to teach our sons to look beyond the outer package. We need to tell our daughters that looks fade, but confidence in who you are (whoever that is) will get you where you need to go.

To all women, young and old - I'm not saying you don't have to take an interest in how you look. I'm saying just be the best 'you' you can be, and don't sweat the small stuff. Play up the best of you, and play down what you're not totally happy with. Focussing on the positive will boost your confidence. This has an amazing benefit of making you more attractive. I know, I know, you're saying it can't be that easy. Yes. It. Can. Confidence is beautiful, and it's something that never goes out of fashion.