Modern Young Women

Technology has opened an entire world of new contacts to us, but there is a dark side to all this freedom and connectivity.
Much as we enjoy interacting, making new friends, being part of the world and fulfilling our need to belong to a group, we could end up losing our own identity in the process.
Personally, I think that the most difficult challenge for a young woman in our society today is to stand her ground, to be loyal to her values, and to uplift her standards.
There is the very common phenomenon nowadays that most of you have heard of or will be familiar with from experience … young people are so often subject to peer pressure.
What is peer pressure if not a “false idea” impressed upon young minds to make everyone be alike, adhere to the same practices, enjoy the same things and be ‘one of the crowd’ which so often leads one to wrong choices?
If one wants to be part of this group, one has to follow in others’ footsteps, change one’s behaviour and lose one’s own identity just to become a clone of someone else.
I constantly say that there is beauty in being different, in being yourself. The world is looking for someone who takes a stand and goes in the opposite direction to the crowd, enabling him or her to become a role model.
My message to you is don’t be afraid of being different. Don’t be afraid of standing your ground and holding on to your values. Don’t be ashamed of saying you do not believe in sex before marriage. You do not need to experiment with substances to feel happy. You can make a statement on your femininity and express who you are by the way you dress. Believe me when I say that by being different, bold and beautiful, you will definitely set a trend and make an impact on those around you. Don’t give in to peer pressure.
I want to highlight the example of a young woman in the Bible who, when she was in her early teens, was confronted with a life-changing situation, but still said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Lk 1: 38).
I am talking about the young Mary, who was chosen to give birth to the Messiah. When you look at her story today, you know about its “happy ending”. Yet it was 2,000 years ago and she was a 14-year-old, who was pregnant while being promised to a man in marriage. This is what I would call a good example of “peer pressure”. Despite it all, she said yes.
In order for God to work in and through you today, you will need to be like Mary, and make yourself available to Him, not just settle for being one of the crowd.