Miss America 2008 Presents Focus Group on Body Image
Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund, encouraged students in her Focus Group titled “Love Your Body, Rock the World,” to cherish the body God has given them. Haglund attended CHIC in 2003 as a student and is back for the week presenting this workshop each morning during Basecamps. Body image is the perception you have of your body, she told students, and much of self worth is based on that. Haglund shared with students her battle with anorexia nervosa and how God was a major part in her recovery. She soon became a beauty pageant titleholder, starting at the local level and God used this position as an avenue for her to share her faith. Time and again the media exhibits lies, causing many to think negatively about themselves when they do not resemble those airbrushed images. Haglund referred to Genesis 1:27, affirming students that they are a reflection of our amazingly beautiful and strong God. He is the eternal God of the universe and His opinion is truly the only one that matters. She promised students that thinness does not lead to happiness as she has witnessed on a personal and Hollywood level. God has created our bodies as sacred temples of His Holy Spirit, looking for to find purpose in anything else will only leave you empty.
