Listen to Your Body Week at AIS
Our Secondary School students participated in our annual “Listen To Your Body” week from February 20 through 26. The events were planned and hosted by our AIS chapter of the Eating Disorders Information Network (EDIN). EDIN is a student group that works with peers to “raise awareness about handling stress, body image, perfectionism, the media, and how we define beauty through fun, interactive on-campus activities.”
The week’s events highlighted four main areas:
- the influence of the media
- proper nutrition
- coping with stress
- inner beauty
Events included Mirror-less Monday, a fundraiser for EDIN’s outreach programs, an on-campus meditation session, a life-size Barbie display, and a day that focused on inner beauty. The week culminated with the annual Merrick’s Walk at Chastain Park, a philanthropic walk in memory of Merrick Ryan, a student who lost her battle with anorexia at the age of 19. AIS students joined more than 500 walkers for the event and contributed their time and effort to raise awareness for this sensitive and important issue among today’s young people.
Students commented that “it was a great week to celebrate who we are and not what we look like. We learned useful information about eating disorders, but we had fun at the same time.” Students are already working on plans for next year’s events. Special thanks to the EDIN members who put together such a memorable week!