#mobstirs

[isfyouth]

Have you checked out our 2016 #MobSTIRs?? Check out the following article and meet our amazing new change makers! #ISFYouth #ISF #KidsChangetheWorld

[isfyouth]

Validation Through Social Media

When I downloaded instagram onto my phone, I did not think twice about it. Everyone else had an instagram account, so why shouldn’t I? I had a lot of friends. I was a freshman in high school at the time, and felt that the only way to truly fit into this environment of judgement, was to simply follow everyone else’s lead. I considered myself to be a decently popular girl. I was no Regina George, but I wanted to be able to showcase my life, who I was hanging out with, and the cool places I went to. I fit all the standards. I set up a profile, feeling completely confident in myself; only to have it shattered by none other than myself.

As time passed, I became more and more insecure about what I was posting. There was always someone whom I believed was better than me; who I felt in competition with. I could have posted the most gorgeous picture, and still have doubted myself, because there was someone else out there who would have an even greater one. Girls are constantly comparing themselves to other girls on the internet, whether it be about body image, wealth, size, or any other superficial standards that our society has created. It has become such a necessity for girls to constantly receive a certain number of likes. All the time, I see pictures being deleted, just because the desired amount of likes was not reached. The problem with needing to be validated all the time, often leaves us feeling discouraged. There is no way that everyone will always live up to the expectations of others, if they are in constant need of approval from something like social media. We become so obsessed with instagram, twitter, snapchat, and various other sites, that some of our most basic interactions as human beings are jeopardized.

The people of this generation rely so heavily on their phones, that many teenagers are missing out on experiences that ultimately prepare them for life. Teenagers do not feel the need to hang out in person as much as they did before, because it is so easy to communicate online. By doing so, the interactions between teenagers are becoming more and more limited. It is so common nowadays to have people be “dating”, but communicating for the most part through snapchat or Imessage. All the real talking, arguing, and heart-to-hearts are ultimately done online. Even phone calls have become a primitive thing. Any teenager would much rather send a person a text message, than have to go through the trouble of calling someone, and dealing with a live conversation. In person, everything is more uncomfortable. Everything is real. As stressful as social media may be, it acts as a safe haven for many people, in an attempt to avoid confrontation.

The truth is, no one really cares what kind of pictures I post. I personally was never picked on or criticized over my instagram page. I created the entire mental dilemma. I am the one who put all the pressure on myself to be perfect. I am the one who truly judged myself, and compared myself to others. I told myself I wasn’t good enough. We put all of our trust into these social media platforms, to give us the reassurance and validation we want, when the only thing we can truly rely on for that, is ourselves.

~Chloe

[isfyouth]

Here are some things that I really liked about helping at the booth in Boston and some things that were a challenge for me BUT I learned from them so really we can call them LIKES :-)

Likes:

Felt proud to represent the Youth division at the Booth Got to meet Jules and being around her happiness made me feel not so nervous about being there. Got to meet Tiffany and DJ - both were super helpful and made me feel important. Was "in charge" of the satchel raffle and got to stand on a chair and pick out a winner! My FAVORITE thing about helping at the booth that weekend, was talking about ISF to people and seeing their faces smile when they hear that they can help too! I was surprised to meet lots of people who didn't know what ISF was about or that they could actually help and get involved.

Some "dislikes" or challanges (as mom puts it) were:

- I was very shy at first because I wasn't sure how to answer people's questions if they were to ask like about prices on the items or about the foundation. - I admit.. I did get a little bored when it wasn't busy but I was able to talk to DJ and Tiffany got to know them and they are super cool. - Really the hardest part for me was to not be nervous around the people coming to the table... being there behind the table with Tiffany, DJ and Jules and knowing I was representing the ISF youth... I felt brave after awhile... I felt like "Woah... I'm representing ISF , I need to be professional" and then I was ok!

It was so cool going back to school and tell my friends about my weekend. I see some changes in them I think they are inspired by me because of ISF (and my mom)! Like 1 kid used to bring paper bag lunch with plastic ziplock baggies of snacks.. the other day he brought in lunchbox with NOTHING that needed to be thrown away! I think he sees me doing that so he did it... So let's set a good example!

-Luke

[isfyouth]

Our hearts and thoughts are with all the people of Paris.

[isfyouth]

MobSTIR Luke shares with us his litterless lunch! Each day he saves the at least 4 sandwich bags, that is 760 and sandwich bags diverted from the landfill each school year! Way to go Luke!

[isfyouth]

MobSTIR Luke tells us all about his amazing ISF fundraiser!

“On Sunday, August 2, 2015, we (my mom Kelly, myself, Fellow ISF MobSTIRS Hannah and Leah and their mom Jessica) held a "Show Your Talent, Talent Show" to raise money AND awareness of ISF!  I wanted to do an event where kids AND adults participate! I thought of the talent show because no matter what your age is, we all have a talent! I hung up posters in my community about the show & asked people to contact my mom to sign up. I also told everyone I knew about the event! Let me tell you, it was AWESOME! Not many people signed up to do the Talent Show, but that didn't stop us! Fellow MobSTIRS Hannah, Leah, and their mom, Jess, came down to help us out. The talent show took place down at the dance hall in my neighborhood which is on a lake in Derry, NH! It was really hot on Sunday, which meant people wanted to be in the nice water and not in a hot dance hall. We decided to bring the talent show outside to all the people at the beach!

Hannah, Leah and I put on a little show for the viewers! We went around to the people and asked them to fill out the MadLib that we were going to use for the play. While we were doing that, I took the time to talk to people about ISF and if they knew what it was about. A lot of the adults had never heard of ISF and were surprised to hear that a celebrity started such a great foundation. We showed off our talent to the people on the beach by putting on a play called Little Purple Riding Hood. We got a few laughs and the best part was we had fun!!’

[isfyouth]

Join our MobSTIRs and help clean up the planet! A great way to use up those plastic grocery bags is to fill them up with trash! ISF MobSTIRs challenge you to get out into your community and #BagThatTrash ! We want to see how you’re helping the planet become a better place!

Take a picture of the trash you’ve collected and share it with us! Don’t forget to tag us on twitter @ISFYouth and use hashtags #ISFYouth and #BagThatTrash Tell us your about your experience and what you’ve collected! As much as we love seeing your lovely faces, we just want to see pictures of what you collected!

MobSTIR Austin tells us about his experience:

“My mom took me for a walk in our community so I could fill up a plastic bag with trash. Sadly it didn't take long to do. The items we found the most of were water bottles, pop cans, Juice boxes, chocolate bar wrappers and coffee cups. It made me really sad that people litter. Some adults saw me picking up trash, they smiled and told me that I was doing a great job. I'm not smiling in my picture because I don't think littering the planet is anything to smile about. I hope other kids go out and #BagThatTrash too and share the pictures of their full grocery bags with us!!” -Austin

[isfyouth]

Happy World Environment Day!