Mean Girls on Campus

There’s been  a lot of talk on the internet lately of Mean Girls and bullying in Spokane.  The recent suicide of a young Massachusetts girl, Phoebe Prince,  put schoolyard bullying into the forefront once again.  Phoebe wasn’t alone in her pain.  In March, popular high schooler and soccer star,  Alexis Pilkington of Long Island, took her own life as a result of cyberbullying.

Experts say that Mean Girls often turn into Mean Women.  The reality TV show Real Housewives of New York has shown former nice girl Jill turn her Mean Girlness toward former BFF Bethenney.   Even for TV viewers it’s hard to watch.

Many think that it’s the geeks who are targeted, but that’s not always the case.  Anyone can be a target, for any reason, and usually for no reason at all.   In fact, oftentimes the pretty  girls may be  more of a target.   That certainly was the case with both Phoebe and Alexis.  Young Phoebe  was new to the school and  pretty.  Casually dating a popular football player on…

Spokane’s Race for the Cure

As my husband and I were leaving a Spokane area restaurant last evening, we noticed a  group of 20 or so young women enjoying themselves at a large table.  I immediately thought birthday party, reunion, or something of that sort.   Since they were the only large group in attendance, I was fairly certain that the many  decorated cars in the parking lot belonged to them.   But the way in which the cars were decorated both surprised and saddened me.  The words   ”Get Breast Exams”, “ Spokane’s Race for the Cure“, “Rest in Peace, Mary”, and “Susan G. Komen Foundation” were written in pink on the cars’ windows.

As my husband and I read the messages on the vehicles we both remarked that the  group must have come from a funeral or memorial for someone passing from breast cancer.    As we drove out of the lot, I  found myself  wondering about the table full of young women and the  friend they had evidently lost.  They were all so young.  Could Mary have been…

What? Posture? There are so many reasons for exercising! One of the most surprising benefits I have experienced in the past three months has been a dramatic improvement in my posture. When I first started, I didn’t give my core or back strength much thought. I, like many Spokane women, started out the New Year with a resolution to exercise three times a week. When we choose to exercise, it might be because we need to lose weight, need to tone up, or we want to look good in our clothes. It could be because we want to improve our heart health, we want to be healthier overall, live longer, or be stronger. Our reasons could be as simple as needing a boost in our energy or our confidence. For me, the reasons for exercising were all of the above!

But one of the most overlooked (and for me, unexpected) benefits has been a major improvement in my posture.

With many Americans spending hours daily hunched over their PC at work and at…