Do you clamor for the latest in fashion? Do you start writing your Christmas list of must-haves in the middle of July? Do you consider people who have more “stuff” to be luckier than you?

If so, it might not be more material things that you’re short of after all. Two new studies found that materialism and self-esteem are connected. In other words, the more you care about material things, the lower your self-esteem may be.

Makes sense to me. I mean, who hasn’t used retail therapy to make themselves feel better by shopping for new things? But just like the song goes, money can’t buy you love…and that includes self-love!

So the next time you find yourself becoming more and more interested in what material things you do or don’t have, why not look at how much you have going on the inside and work on boosting your own self-esteem? Trust me…high self-esteem is worth more than anything you could ever buy in a store.

Got a great essay, story, or poem? Rider University in New Jersey is looking for entries for its 28th annual High School Writing Contest. Contest winners will receive money, finalists will receive a certificate of Honorable Mention, and all winners will be considered for publication in Venture, Rider’s literary magazine. Here are the rules:

1. Type your Name, Address, Grade, Teacher’s Name, School Name and School Address on your entry
2. Include a letter from a teacher stating the work is original and by you.
3. Make sure your entry is typed, not handwritten. Stories and essays must be double-spaced. Give your work a title.
4. Only send one entry per category
5. Entries must be postmarked no later than December 14, 2007

Entries should be mailed to:

Dr. Robbie Clipper Sethi
English Department
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Find out more here, and good luck!

Woo hoo! I just received an advanced copy of my new book CHILL: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Peaceful, Balanced You! After working on this book for nearly a year (between researching, writing, editing, rewriting, and so on), getting to hold an actual book in my hot little hands is the coolest thing!

Like the title says, CHILL is all about how to get rid of the stress in your life, and considering I followed my own advice while writing the book (while juggling a million other things at the same time) and didn’t have have any sort of meltdown, I’d say it works!

Inside CHILL you’ll find chapters on how to:

• manage your time
• get organized
• learn how to say “no” to opportunities
• create your own, personal support system
• keep things in perspective
• journal
• practice good exercise and nutrition
• and much more!

Stay tuned for more on the CHILL front, including info on bonus content you’ll be able to download from my website.

Also – if you write for your school newspaper and want to review CHILL for the paper, send me an and I’ll send you a copy of my book!

Peace & Love,

Debbie

I just read an interesting article in the New York Times about the phenomenon of student athletes shelling out big bucks to have professionally produced “sports highlights videos” showcasing their talents. From football to field hockey, these athletes are hoping their varsity videos will help them earn competitive college scholarships.

The popularity of these expensive slick sports videos, ranging from $300 to $5,000, has made recruiting easier for universities, since many are now opting to skip the school visits to find new talent. And why would they need to, when they’ve got a stack of DVDs, complete with fancy edits, rockin’ pop music, and “best of” footage put together in a nice little package?

While I can see the allure of these varsity videos, here’s my problem with them: what about the fantastic high school athletes who can’t afford to hire one of these companies to make him or her a video star? And isn’t it these students who are most in need of available scholarship money anyway?

I know that competition to get into college and snag scholarships is getting tougher and tougher, but I think it’s a shame that these highlights reels are just going to widen the gap of an already unequal playing field.

What are your thoughts? Share them here!

I just read an interesting article in the New York Times about the phenomenon of student athletes shelling out big bucks to have professionally produced “sports highlights videos” showcasing their talents. From football to field hockey, these athletes are hoping their varsity videos will help them earn competitive college scholarships.

The popularity of these expensive slick sports videos, ranging from $300 to $5,000, has made recruiting easier for universities, since many are now opting to skip the school visits to find new talent. And why would they need to, when they’ve got a stack of DVDs, complete with fancy edits, rockin’ pop music, and “best of” footage put together in a nice little package?

While I can see the allure of these varsity videos, here’s my problem with them: what about the fantastic high school athletes who can’t afford to hire one of these companies to make him or her a video star? And isn’t it these students who are most in need of available scholarship money anyway?

I know that competition to get into college and snag scholarships is getting tougher and tougher, but I think it’s a shame that these highlights reels are just going to widen the gap of an already unequal playing field.

What are your thoughts? Share them here!

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.

—Buddha

For many of us, the idea of being “thankful” is a concept we’ve been aware since we were young. And on a day like today, being thankful is very much on our mind.

But how often do you truly experience the notion of thankfulness? It’s almost too easy to get caught up in everyday life and all the little things that go wrong – forgetting to do an important assignment, having a crush say he just wants to “be friends,” getting caught in the middle of a nasty fight between mom and dad, being ostracized by group of friends, feeling for certain that no one on the planet understands who you are or what you’re going through. But it’s times like these that being thankful – acknowledging something or someone in your life that brings you joy, comfort or safety – can actually have the most impact in your life. Here’s why…

Being thankful:

• shifts your focus away from the negative and towards the positive
• puts things in perspective by reminding you there is good in your life no matter how bad things get
• has a positive impact on your emotions and mental state of mind
• lowers your stress levels

Why not give it a try and see what the results are for you? For the next week, try being thankful for ONE THING every day. Yes, that’s right…ONE THING. And when I say “being thankful,” I’m talking about truly acknowledging and feeling the gratitude. Here are some ideas for things you might be thankful for in case you get stumped:

• your dog or cat (or other pet)
• your health
• your family
• a teacher
• your sense of humor
• your house or apartment
• your bed or bedroom
• your love of reading
• your natural talent (artistic, athletic, etc.)
• people who love you
• good friends
• food on the table
• movie theatre popcorn
• your favorite book or television show
• your ability to read
• a beautiful day
• the beach

Remember – even when it seems like there’s nothing to be grateful for, feeling gratitude about even the smallest thing can have a bigger impact than spending your time complaining about what’s missing in your life. You be the judge… let me know how it works for you!

And on that note…Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace & Love,

Debbie

I just found out about a great opportunity with New Moon Magazine that I had to pass along. You know New Moon, right? It’s that awesome magazine aimed at girls ages 8-14, and it’s free of advertising and full of great fiction, poetry, artwork, science, articles about the lives of girls and women around the globe. They call themselves “The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams.” What could be better than that?

Next March, New Moon Magazine is launching an online experience for girls ages 13-15+ which will enable girls from across the country and world to share stories and ideas in a multimedia forum. Here’s how you can get involved.

Creative Content

New Moon’s online venture is looking for stories, poetry, articles, travel logs, biographies, videos, songs, podcasts, drawings, paintings, photographs, games, cartoons, and reviews from you! Here are the specifics:

• Who: Girls between 12-18 years old. They are especially looking for submissions from girls ages 13-15.
• What: Content related to politics and current events, health, powerful women, finances, fashion, entertainment and media, friends and relationships, pop culture, school and careers, and technology
• How: Submit your creative content along with your complete name, complete address, email address, phone number, and age. If you collaborated with someone, include their information as well. You can submit online here, where you can attach PDFs, mp3s, jpgs, Word docs, and .mov or .aif videos up to 10MB.
• When: Deadline is January 1, 2007

Good luck!

If you’re a budding filmmaker, this is for you! C-SPAN, the cable TV channel that features coverage of politics in Washington, D.C., has launched the C-SPAN StudentCam Competition. The competition encourages students to think seriously about issues that affect our communities and our nation and produce a short video documentary that creatively explores a current political topic of interest. Your video has to incorporate some content from C-SPAN, which you can download from the website.

The competition is open to middle school and high school students, and you can submit an entry as an individual or as a team of up to 3 students.

There will be more than 90 prizes awarded in the competition, including a grand price of $5,000 and 65 honorable mentions, each worth $250. If your documentary wins, it may air on C-SPAN as well.

Find out more and watch a video about the competition by visiting the StudentCam website.

Smart Girls Know Affirmation: Smart Girls Know How to Be in the Moment

Do you ever find yourself totally preoccupied about something that happened yesterday, last week, or even last year? Do you stress out about things that haven’t happened yet or might not even happen at all?

You’re not alone. It’s completely normal to get caught up thinking about our past and future lives. The problem is, all of this attention on yesterday and tomorrow takes away from our actual lives…what is happening in the now.

Here’s why living in the PAST isn’t a great idea:

• You can’t change what’s already happened
• If you’re looking backward, you’ll miss what’s right in front of you

Here’s why living in the FUTURE doesn’t work so well, either:

• There’s no way to know what the future holds
• Worrying about what hasn’t happened yet won’t change anything
• If you’re looking forward, you’ll miss what’s right in front of you

Here’s why living the PRESENT is a GREAT IDEA!

• You will get the most out of every experience
• You will be more content and happier overall
• You will be much less stressed out
• You will see the possibilities in everything

It’s clear that living in the present is definitely the way to go. The question is…how is it done? Here are some tips for getting the most out of every day and being fully in the NOW:

• Notice something beautiful everyday… a gorgeous full moon, a droplet of rain on the car window, the smell of banana bread baking
• Take five minutes each day to STOP and be still…check in with yourself to make sure you’re making the most out of whatever it is you’re doing
• Tell the people you love how you feel…often
• Take a break from multitasking each day…it’s okay to watch TV, text on your cell, and surf YouTube…just not all at once!
• Do something you LOVE…play piano, go for a bike ride, paint a picture…connect with your personal passion

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WHAT’S NEW

If you haven’t visited my author’s website, do so now (or at least when you’re done reading this update…)! and check out the feature where you can download some of my original interviews with the fabulous women of In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers.

I just posted a new interview with inspirational environmentalist Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Click here to listen to the entire interview, and find out why Severn is so passionate about her work, why it’s so important to make all our voices heard, and what we can each do to save the planet.

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2007 GIRLS FOR A CHANGE Summit

I had the honor of being a part of this year’s national Girls for a Change Summit held in San Jose, CA last week. Girls for a Change is a national organization that empowers girls to create social change.

I led workshops for middle school girls called “Smart Choices: Finding Your Voice & Speaking Your Truth,” where I challenged girls to discover where their passions lie and speak up for themselves as they make choices to bring them closer to their dreams.

The highlight for me was being a huge room teeming with girl power potential – more than 1,400 girls wearing t-shirts declaring themselves “Social Change Agents.” Imagine all the change that will happen when each and every girl in that room takes action in even one area of her life!

There were incredibly cool women speakers at the conference, including Olympic Gold Medalist Jessica Mendoza, as well as amazing organizations doing work on behalf of girls. I’ll be highlighting these various speakers and organizations at Smart Girls Know over the next few weeks, so check back soon to read more.

To find out more about Girls for a Change, visit their website.

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This Month’s MUST READ

While at the GFC Summit, I caught up with author Audrey Brashich, who wrote the book All Made Up: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype…and Celebrating Real Beauty.

Have you ever dreamed of being a famous model or celebrity? Are you obsessed with shows like America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway? Then this book is for you. All Made Up takes us behind the scenes in the modeling world and in Hollywood to show you what’s real and what’s, well, made up.

Audrey includes all kinds of fun and fascinating info in her book, including:

• a history of the rise and fall and rise again of supermodels
• the lengths people really go to in order to achieve “the look”
• how our relationships with boys affect the image we have of ourselves
• suggestions for some inspirational, real role models

For more information on the book, visit Audrey’s website. To join in a conversation about body image and the media, check out Audrey’s awesome blog, Don’t Believe the Hype.

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Debbie Named ALUMNI OF THE YEAR

I had the cool, surreal, and unbelievable honor of being named Alumni of the Year by my alma mater, Oley Valley High School. Cool because if you’re going to go back and visit your high school twenty years after graduation, what better way to do so than by winning such a great award. Surreal because I graduated from high school twenty years ago (!!!) and the last time I was on stage was to sing and dance to Lionel Richie’s hit song All Night Long in the spring concert (this was the 80’s…what can I say). Unbelievable because, well, I was named “best excuse maker” and “class clown” in my senior poll back in 1987. All I can say is…I’ve come a long way baby!