BY QUIN VERTOLLI
A Sheridan student launched a blog last week to help others feel better about their body image.
Amelia Sher, a Journalism student and Awareness Coordinator for the Sheridan Student Union, created Freshman 15, about healthy living in conjunction with the SSU.
The term “Freshman 15” refers to the 15 pounds often gained by students in the first semester of college and university.
Sher is passionate about the topic and created this blog to help students with the negative image they may have of themselves. “I hope to redefine the Freshman 15. I hope to help people look inside themselves to see what makes them feel empowered and strong. I’m going to be writing about a multitude of different topics, highlighting some that are not typically talked about in college.”
Sher says that society has a specific body type in mind in terms of what people should look like, but that is changing. “I think our society has been progressing. One body type isn’t being pushed as our societal norm. I really hope to influence that.”
According to kidshealth.org, studies have shown that students gain an average of 3 to 10 pounds during the first two years of post-secondary. The majority of the weight is gained in the first semester of the year. This is due to a drastic change in eating habits after moving away from home.
Sher hopes her blog will help build students’ self-confidence. “I also believe that all of our society experiences body positivity issues at some point in our lives. Instead of capitalizing on those issues we should be building each other up and should focus more on what we like in people instead ofwhat we don’t.”
Julia Brown, a Sheridan student, attended the blog launch on Thursday.
“It means a lot to me because I think it’s an amazing cause she’s standing for,” Brown said.
Sher was giving away stickers and recipes as a part of her blog launch and Brown has one of the stickers on her phone.
“As a student you don’t see this very often, someone trying to talk about body positivity and as someone who has had body issues its very supporting.”