Recently, I enjoyed a visit from my sister. She has lived in Tokyo for the past six years, but always manages to get in at least one annual visit to the homeland, usually in August. The visit itself was not out of the ordinary; what was of note was my reaction and feelings during it. I've finally come to the point where I'm not comparing myself to her all the time, not feeling "less than," but actually respecting our individuality. My sister is three years younger than I am; both of us are bright, but she always seemed (to me) to have the upper hand.

Let me introduce myself: my name is Brooke, I'm a mom (still very awesome to say), wife, sister, daughter and graphic designer extraordinaire.  I battled bulimia and anorexia for many years and I'd like to say that I've kicked ED out of my life, but I know that he still lurks around when I'm vulnerable.

I've been reflecting on how much my body image has improved in the last few years (amazing as I'm "over 35".) We were doing an exercise on body image in a group last week and I was surprised with my positive thoughts and feelings about my body. I like the way my jeans fit now and how my arms aren't so skinny. I shun fashion magazines and the "heroin-chic look” of some models. Fifteen years ago, I thought I was huge at this weight. Now, it feels right. Had I finally learned to love and accept my body?

I recently found myself leading a workshop on body image and self esteem for a large group of grade seven and eight girls. One of the tools I like to lead with is a getting-to-know-you exercise in which every participant shares their name and something that they like about themselves with the group. The only rule is that this quality cannot be appearance-based. With adults, this exercise tends to be fairly smooth – at our age most adults are able to define something they value about themselves, even if it takes a moment of soul searching.