There was a girl in Junior high school, who had a lot of trouble with her teachers and the headmistress because she could not accept her name. When she was small, she had no problem with the tribal name her parents gave her. When she joined high school as an adolescent, she found herself among girls from many different tribes all of whom were being called by their Christian names and family (father’s) names. This girl was, however, being called by her Christian name and her tribal (second) name. She started to hate her tribal name and in fact gave herself another name which she thought sounded nice.

Each end of term there would be confusion about her examination papers because they bore a different name from the one on the register. Because of this confusion, she had a lot of problems with the headmistress and she became very miserable. Other girls laughed at her for refusing to use her own name.

There are things about yourself, including physique, size, the colour of your skin, that you can never change. It is therefore very important for you to accept yourself as you happen to be. There are girls who feel that they are not beautiful because the colour of their skin is too dark. Some, in attempt to make their skin lighter, use strong cosmetics which spoil their skins.

Maria is another girl in my village. She is short and very plump. In fact, she looks ‘round’. Other girls make fun of her size, but surprisingly Maria is never offended. Whenever they comment on her size she smiles and says, ‘I love my size, it is a sign of my good health.’ You should see Maria walking confidently, and going happily about her duties. You would really admire her. Maria is happy because she has learnt to accept herself just as she is.

Wouldn’t you wish to be as happy? At this moment are you accepting the changes happening to you as you grow? Some may not be so pleasant and others might be what you were dreaming of, what other changes should you expect and how will they shape your future self? Read more from About Girls