February 16, 2023Campus Life, Events, People of Central, Students Gallery: Students and Community Members Gather for Candlelight Vigil in Show of Support to MSU More
February 10, 2023Arts & Entertainment, Campus Life, Community, Student Lifestyle Taylor Swift Society Connects Swifties Across Campus
September 19, 2022Campus Fashion, Features, Student Lifestyle, Style Student Lifestyle – Sydney Theiler More
March 25, 2021Campus Fashion, Men's Style, Student Styles, Style, Style & Beauty, Trend and Beauty Men’s Spring Fashion: Comfort and Style
March 19, 2021Campus Fashion, Style, Style & Beauty, Trend and Beauty Revive: The Organization of Black Unity’s first ever virtual fashion show
January 11, 2021Men's Style, Student Styles, Style, Style & Beauty, Trend and Beauty, Uncategorized, Women's Style Winter Fashion Trends
April 1, 2023Arts & Entertainment, Events Gallery: The 5 Pillars of Africa: African Student Association Show 2023 More
March 2, 2023Arts & Entertainment, Events, Photography Gallery: Organization for Black Unity hosts 23rd annual fashion show
February 17, 2023Arts & Entertainment, People of Central People of Central: Student Director Sarah Hobgood More
February 16, 2023Campus Life, Events, People of Central, Students Gallery: Students and Community Members Gather for Candlelight Vigil in Show of Support to MSU
December 5, 2022People of Central “You’ll Never Walk Alone”: From middle school flag spinner to international performer
November 9, 2018Archives, Arts & Entertainment, Community, Food & Beverage, Seasonal Issues, Style, Style & Beauty Check out the Spring Issue 2018
May 3, 2016 Advice, Opinion, Opinion & Advice How One Editor Rose Above Negative Body Image Story by Colleen Dluzynski Feature Photo via GraphicBurger.com For Grand Central’s spring style initiative, I was 1 of 7 girls to participate in a photo shoot around the city featuring our own unique and personal styles. With a love for all things black and red, and as a female with fringe bangs, I was picked to represent the category “edgy.” (I suppose it does fit, I’ve just never really thought about a name for my style preferences before). So, I threw on a red lip, grabbed a cup of coffee, and our Photo Editor, Annie, and I hit the downtown area on a very mild and pleasant spring day to take some pictures in an alleyway. (Hardcore!) Taking photos with Annie is always a blast. She’s one of my closest friends, we joke around, and she is wickedly talented at what she does. This sort of setting is actually what originally brought us together – she needed help on a photography project, I offered to assist her, and the next time we hung out, we bonded over beer and french fries as a skeleton and pirate on Halloween. (And have been close-knit ever since). When we got back to her apartment, Annie showed me the photos she had taken. Her high quality camera and masterful, artistic skills made them look awesome! And, I was pleased with my ability to not look super awkward or stiff, seeing as they were going to be published. But as I scrolled through the photos, I managed to look past the photo for exactly what it was, and give it this mirror effect – I was focused on my weight. Yeah, I’ll say it. I sometimes doubt myself and get down about myself and compare myself to others – I’m human. There was a time not too long ago, that the thoughts that circulated in my head when I looked in the mirror played tricks on me, were extremely harsh and messed with my mentality and emotions. It was a weird feeling for me because I have pretty much always felt comfortable in my own skin. I’ve played sports all my life, and upon coming to college, stayed active, as working out has always been a priority and something I enjoy. But like a lot of things within the roller coaster years of late high school and early college, areas in my life that I had once thought of as secure began to waver within the many new and changing environments of the past few years. When I had doubts about my relationships, career path, involvements and future was when it seemed the focus on my weight was prevalent. When I was facing new stresses of growing up and becoming an adult living on my own, I focused on making sure I was only putting really healthy foods in my body if I couldn’t work out on a certain day. And if I couldn’t work out, it threw my whole day off kilter. It was unhealthy. I wasn’t enjoying myself fully and by stressing out over everything I consumed and every minute spent at the gym, I realized I was actually being counter productive. I realized that things weren’t going to slow down from here on out, so I needed to learn balance. And, I learned how much of a negative influence the comparisons to unrealistic standards of beauty I was holding myself to had. Even if it was subconsciously, seeing beautifully-taken photos of models obviously had me looking in the photos like a mirror and expecting to see something that was not there. But, I have been making valiant efforts to look in the mirror each day and look at photos of myself and say “Damn! Look at that smile! Look at those hips! Look at her – she is happy and healthy!” I never want to look back on this amazing time in my life and think that all I focused on was how I looked. Perfection is unattainable and undesirable – everything we are made of makes us who we are – beautifully and individually unique. I know, we all have insecurities. We all have things we wish were different, and that’s normal. But, it is an amazing feeling when you go on living life to the fullest anyways, fully embracing and loving yourself. I know I do.