Hey, U.G.L.Y.

Don’t be offended. According to the Hey U.G.L.Y. website, U.G.L.Y. is the new beautiful.

U.G.L.Y. actually stands for Unique Gifted Lovable You and it’s all about helping teens to see their own beauty. Building self-confidence and learning to love oneself is the first step in preventing drug use, promiscuity and other behaviors that are harmful to teens. An adolescent with self-love and confidence has the courage to do the right thing no matter what others are doing.

Hey U.G.L.Y. has some really cool stuff like a self-esteem quiz and tips on dealing with stress. There are fun contests and cool U.G.L.Y. products.

My favorite part of the site, though, are the celebrity stories. It’s an entire page of quotes from some of the most beautiful celebrities around. These are the beautiful people that many teens admire and emulate. Their words speak to our kids about real beauty.
From Reese Witherspoon:

I have cellulite. I have stretch marks. I feel intimidated by Victoria’s Secret. Hollywood is one of those endless competitions, but it’s like running a race toward nothing. There’s no winning. You’re never going to win the pretty race. I just want to be the best version of myself that I can be.”

Source:TWIST Dec ’04

I know these are things we say to our kids all the time. I also know that they tune us out when we say these things. It’s the nature of adolescence that they would pay more attention to the words of an actress they’d never met than to the people who brought them into the world. Teens are funny like that.

If you know a teen or pre-teen, please pass this site on to them. Anything we an do to build our kids’ self-esteem and encourage a healthy self-love is worth the time it takes. Hey U.G.L.Y. is definitely a step in the right direction.