On TV this am 'Samantha', one of th stars in Sex and the City, was being interviewed. She commented that the movie and the show was so wonderful because "You just get to be a girl!" She then went on to say that we all want that. All women want the fun of beautiful clothes and best friends and everything turning out just right.
As a positive psychologist and author of The Truth, I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything, I agree with her. This is a tremendous yearning in women to belong, to have dear friends, to let the playful, girly side of themselves stay alive, even when we grow up. In fact when a women stops caring for herself in terms of making a nice appearance, often it is a signal that the woman is depressed. Women are able to laugh, cry and share intensely all sorts of feelings and of course even though we grow up we yearn for happy endings and beginnings in our lives. And where does all of this begin?
In girlhood of course. And that where my book dovetails Sex and the City. The Truth, I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything is a book where you see a girl putting down in writing her understanding of all the wonderful parts of herself so she can hold on to them. She knows she is smart, can have fun, can solve problems, can fall in love, can have adventures, can be pretty, can star, can have best friends. She knows all of this in her gut and she is aware that sometimes these capacities get lost as we grow up.
Samantha and her friends document that we can hold on to the best of ourselves. And at worst if we loss some of our precious selves we can at least come and borrow the energy they exude and get recharged. And if we can't look as beautiful as they do, at least we can enjoy looking at them.
Stay posted for more of the Positive Psychologist's insights on us 'girls'. Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
