Disclosure: Post sponsored by Mirum but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

                                                        Ice Skating in DTLA at Christmas Time

One of the most important gifts you can give a young woman today is the gift of self-esteem. I think it’s much harder growing up a young woman these days as information about everything moves fast and I think it can be confusing.

About 3 years ago I became a mentor to an 8^th grader who lives in a tough part of Los Angeles. She just started her junior year in high school and is starting to think about college. She comes from a low-income family and is a first-generation American. I totally lucked out with her as she has a really good head on her shoulders. She actually dreams about going to Harvard, and she probably could as she has the grades.

Sometimes when we’re together, I reflect on what I was like when I was her age of 16. Things were not stable. My parents were divorced and my mother had died of cancer a few years earlier so facing the teenage years was quite lonely and confusing. I like to think I had a hand in the wearing-all-black trend! But I try to give myself a break as I was young and was dealt a tough hand and I turned out ok.

Taking picture like these on a white bed eating strawberries and drinking champagne would have sent me running for the hills 20 years ago but I think I’ve become more comfortable in my skin over the years.

I do think I would have loved having someone in my life like a mentor that would take me to do things and actually listened to me, so that’s why I wanted to get involved in mentorship. I have a niece but she’s only 7 so I look forward to helping build her self-esteem and self-worth when she gets to the tough teenage years.

That’s why I love this partnership with Dove and their Dove Self Esteem project. I think every young person can’t hear the words, “You’re ok,” or, “You’re fine the way you are,” enough. Dove even has an, “Hour With Her,” initiative that claims spending ‘an hour with her’ can boost a girl’s self-esteem for a lifetime. Now that’s pretty great!

And to support Dove and their campaigns like this one, I make sure I pick up their products in my weekly trip to Ralphs. Their DrySpray Deodorant has been a favorite for many years and I switch my body wash to Dove’s Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash when the temps start dropping to keep my skin in shape.

Want to join in on this super important conversation? Get over to Dove.com/Self-Esteem and share your thoughts. #KrogerBeauty