In the lead-up to the Girl to Woman Festival we spoke to presenter and complementary women's health practitioner Rebecca Poole, about her life, experiences and reflections on her teenage years.
What was important to you growing up as a young girl?
For me when I was growing up, what was truly important was probably overshadowed by what I thought was important. As a very young girl I had a very strong sense of truth and was very inquisitive about the world and people. I wasn’t really concerned with what people thought of me as I cared more about what I felt was right or the truth of something. As I grew a bit older I started to lose this sense of everything being alright as it was and me being alright as I was and started to care more about what people thought about me. So I would say that what truly was important for me was a sense of freedom to be myself and explore the world and myself in it but what I focussed on as being important as I grew was others liking me.
For me when I was growing up, what was truly important was probably overshadowed by what I thought was important. As a very young girl I had a very strong sense of truth and was very inquisitive about the world and people. I wasn’t really concerned with what people thought of me as I cared more about what I felt was right or the truth of something. As I grew a bit older I started to lose this sense of everything being alright as it was and me being alright as I was and started to care more about what people thought about me. So I would say that what truly was important for me was a sense of freedom to be myself and explore the world and myself in it but what I focussed on as being important as I grew was others liking me.
What were the areas you found difficult throughout this changing process of moving from the girl into becoming the woman you are?
I suppose the most difficult time for me was 14 - 17, this is when I started listening less to myself and felt the most restricted in being myself. At this time I was doing a lot, school, sport, work and socialising all the while I was actually exhausted. It was a feeling of just treading water, very exhausting, without much ease or real enjoyment. If you would have asked me then, I would have said that I didn’t have any real issues and that was true in comparison to others around me but not compared to the ease I had felt when I was young. If I had let myself feel some of the difficult issues I was facing at that time, I would say the biggest would have been seeing family members deal with sickness and health problems, not feeling the relationships with my friends were very deep or true at school and just being tired all the time.
What did you notice at the time was going on for other young women?
It also wasn’t great to see and feel friends going through stuff like eating disorders or drug abuse and promiscuity as their way of dealing with stuff. Also bullying or bitchiness and gossiping or beating up on yourself. I really didn’t have much patience for people complaining about how fat or ugly they were as it was never true and often they didn’t want to feel better about themselves they just wanted someone else to give them a lift or re-assurance.
How does this relate to what you are seeing now and at the age you are now?
In a lot of ways it doesn’t change as older women are still faced with a lot of self worth issues and don’t have great relationships with food, drugs, sex etc. The biggest difference for me now is that I don’t get as caught up in others dilemmas or dynamics. I have much more true and honest relationships with women meaning I have developed friendships where it is normal and OK to share honestly and to not let a friend beat up on themselves. Sure not everyone wants to hear the loving truth that comes with that honesty but I don’t take it personally and find it much easier to support friends going through a tough time even if they aren’t ready to fully help themselves yet.
For more information on The Girl to Woman Festival taking place in Lennox Head, on January 18th, 2015 see The Girl to Woman Festival program.
Share the love: Spread the word on Social with our big ol' share buttons stuck to the right of your page.
I suppose the most difficult time for me was 14 - 17, this is when I started listening less to myself and felt the most restricted in being myself. At this time I was doing a lot, school, sport, work and socialising all the while I was actually exhausted. It was a feeling of just treading water, very exhausting, without much ease or real enjoyment. If you would have asked me then, I would have said that I didn’t have any real issues and that was true in comparison to others around me but not compared to the ease I had felt when I was young. If I had let myself feel some of the difficult issues I was facing at that time, I would say the biggest would have been seeing family members deal with sickness and health problems, not feeling the relationships with my friends were very deep or true at school and just being tired all the time.
What did you notice at the time was going on for other young women?
It also wasn’t great to see and feel friends going through stuff like eating disorders or drug abuse and promiscuity as their way of dealing with stuff. Also bullying or bitchiness and gossiping or beating up on yourself. I really didn’t have much patience for people complaining about how fat or ugly they were as it was never true and often they didn’t want to feel better about themselves they just wanted someone else to give them a lift or re-assurance.
How does this relate to what you are seeing now and at the age you are now?
In a lot of ways it doesn’t change as older women are still faced with a lot of self worth issues and don’t have great relationships with food, drugs, sex etc. The biggest difference for me now is that I don’t get as caught up in others dilemmas or dynamics. I have much more true and honest relationships with women meaning I have developed friendships where it is normal and OK to share honestly and to not let a friend beat up on themselves. Sure not everyone wants to hear the loving truth that comes with that honesty but I don’t take it personally and find it much easier to support friends going through a tough time even if they aren’t ready to fully help themselves yet.
For more information on The Girl to Woman Festival taking place in Lennox Head, on January 18th, 2015 see The Girl to Woman Festival program.
Share the love: Spread the word on Social with our big ol' share buttons stuck to the right of your page.
