International Young Naturists Organisation
Naturist Resources => Blogs, Videos, Articles about Naturism/Nudity => Topic started by: Danee on August 16, 2011, 02:47:00 pm
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From: http://www.scubaholiday4you.com/being-a-nudist-teenager/ (http://www.scubaholiday4you.com/being-a-nudist-teenager/)
In today’s world, the societal pressures are very strong. Oftentimes,
people succumb to peer pressure, and try to fit into the image of this
“perfect” person. They think that to go somewhere in life, they can’t
be themselves— they have to be what others expect of them. Inner
direction becomes terribly skewed, and, unfortunately, it is often
lost completely. Right and wrong, as simple as they may seem, begin to
blend together, and as a result, many bad decisions are made. The part
of society that seems to be most affected by these factors are teens
like myself. Somehow the desire to be popular and the struggle to be
normal distort perception and mangle self-esteem. Appearance is
everything, and true identity is nothing. Being a nudist, I am able to
step back from all this and see what’s wrong with the picture. I have
the ability to look past the superficial elements and see the soul.
And I have the power to stand up for what I believe in, against the
grain of society, and be a leader, even if I stand alone. This is what
I live for—not to be the most admired or part of the majority. I live
to be me.
Many of my peers live behind this façade, a side of them they create
for the world to see. It’s what they think will make the world love
them and what they think will make their friends envy them. “Without
the mask where will you hide? Can’t find yourself, lost in your lie…”
This quote is from a song called “Everybody’s Fool” by Evanescence. I
think it describes how most teens (and many adults) act perfectly. Why
must they hide? Why must their true self be hidden from the world and
eventually lost in all the lies? Because it’s easy. So much easier
than admitting the imperfections, the flaws, and any little detail
that might ruin their reputation. It’s easier to be ashamed of
yourself than to have others be ashamed of you. It’s easier to agree
than to try to be agreed with. And it’s easier to see the flaws in
your appearance than in your character. I’m not saying that these
people are bad. They’ve just been force-fed this perfection idea their
whole life and brain- washed into believing that the image makes the
person. It takes a great revelation to finally realize that what you
thought was real isn’t. For most people, it takes most of their lives.
For me, it was when I was born.
I have been a nudist my whole life and have definitely benefited from
it. It has taught me self-esteem, trust, and honesty, but most
importantly, I learned not to become part of what my father calls the
“uni-brain,” or in other words, I think of myself. The AANR Youth
Leadership Camp has helped me
along the way. I could not be more grateful for all I have learned and
come to realize in the last two years that I’ve been coming to this
camp. Another thing I have learned from being a nudist is that no one
is perfect. You can’t pretend to be better-looking than you are at a
nudist camp, and with no clothes to hide behind, people must know you
by your personality and how you act. Friendships are much deeper and
more real. Having no clothes to identify you gets rid of “labels,” and
people who would have never even talked to each other in the textile
world become great friends because there’s no initial judgment. For
instance, when I went to FANR camp this year, there were two girls.
They became really good friends. Later that week, one found out the
other was a cheerleader. At Circle of Friends that night she said, “At
school, I am a punk. I do not associate with cheerleaders, ex-
cheerleaders, or future cheerleaders. I never would have even talked
to her if I met her at school. I’m glad I met her here.”
One more thing that nudism teaches me, or any other teenager for that
matter, is that you don’t have to be curious about each other’s
bodies, and you don’t have to experiment. We’ve already seen what
everything looks like, so we don’t really care. Sadly, most teens
don’t know this. A large number of the kids at my school are already
having sex. If they were nudists from the time they were little, that
wouldn’t be happening. Many also give into the curiosity about drugs
and alcohol. They drink and drive, and do other stupid things with
their impaired judgment. As sad as it may be, this is the truth.
Nudist kids are way less likely to do any of these things, because we
have enough courage to think for ourselves. Also, as nudists, we are
taught to respect our bodies so we probably won’t want to pollute or
abuse them.
Body acceptance. Self-respect. Confidence in oneself. These are just
three things that set nudist teenagers like myself apart form the
pack. Nudism isn’t just for adults—it’s for all ages, and as often
mentioned, highly beneficial to children brought up into the
lifestyle. We know we don’t have to fit into the “Madison Avenue”
image or change our true selves to be liked. We’re leaders, not
followers. This is what I live for—to lead, to stand out. I live to be
me.
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Sounds like a great article. Unfortunately my Trend Micro Security software has blocked me from viewing the site.
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Can we invite the person who posted this??
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Can we invite the person who posted this??
You certainly could, Brett, but I believe if you check the site, it was submitted by an 'anon' so..
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Can we invite the person who posted this??
You certainly could, Brett, but I believe if you check the site, it was submitted by an 'anon' so..
There is a nickname attached to that post.. and that person has some other posts. So i guess it's a regular author on that website. So if someone wants to invite it's possible to do it.
And it seems it's a scubadiver.. ;) :e2w
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Can we invite the person who posted this??
You certainly could, Brett, but I believe if you check the site, it was submitted by an 'anon' so..
There is a nickname attached to that post.. and that person has some other posts. So i guess it's a regular author on that website. So if someone wants to invite it's possible to do it.
And it seems it's a scubadiver.. ;) :e2w
Missed that! Thanks, Tony!
Now, being the scuba master, this sounds like a task for you! :624
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Missed that! Thanks, Tony!
Now, being the scuba master, this sounds like a task for you! :624
I'll pass the honor to Okla-Homie this time, since it's his idea.. :234
Okla-Homie, can you handle this? :34567 :543
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Awesome post and a lucky person to have that experience at a young age!
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That post reminds me of a similar essay by the daughter of the owners of Sunsport Gardens in Florida. I believe her name is Stephanie Reamer.
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That's a great read... thanks for posting, Danee! :e4444
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That's a great read... thanks for posting, Danee! :e4444
You are very, very welcome!
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I love articles such as this. Positive and hopeful. It shows we are taking steps in the right direction.
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What a great article if only more people had similar opinions to him
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I think this is a brilliant piece. This sort of thing really helps to better your understanding if you are a newcomer to nudism.
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I agree. It is a very impassioned article. I think my teenage years would have certainly been different, and a lot more possitive, if I had had a naturist upbringing.
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:e4444 :e4444 :e4444
To hear this coming from a teen is nothing short of incredible. What a smart kid
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:3145
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While I'm glad the person has experienced some of the benefits of nudity being acceptable, the article (as much as I read) seems a bit exaggerated in favor of naturism, and sugar coatings can do just as much as harm as lies in the opposite direction can. But again, at least the author cares about the topic enough to write about it.
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Should be fixed now. Our Hoff Appreciation prank changed "nudism" to "naturalism" for variety. To be honest, it was probably the weakest of the replacements, since naturalist is indeed misused for naturist often enough to be fairly ignorable.
There were a few funny replacements though.
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Should be fixed now. Our Hoff Appreciation prank changed "nudism" to "naturalism" for variety. To be honest, it was probably the weakest of the replacements, since naturalist is indeed misused for naturist often enough to be fairly ignorable.
There were a few funny replacements though.
Ha, I noticed that nude to clothed and the textile one, but failed to notice the naturalist one, though I did notice it seemed a lot of people were using the word. There were a few words/posts that got changed to clothed that I found funny as well.
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Should be fixed now. Our Hoff Appreciation prank changed "nudism" to "naturalism" for variety. To be honest, it was probably the weakest of the replacements, since naturalist is indeed misused for naturist often enough to be fairly ignorable.
There were a few funny replacements though.
that was a great prank for april fools day :e4444