Wheaton North group tackles body image

The tattoo on Sophie Slezak’s wrist is one word: change.

It’s a reference to the 18-year-old’s favorite quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

She’s trying to change students’ perceptions of body image after grappling with her own weight issues throughout most of her time at Wheaton North High School. So she started the club Pretty People for just that purpose her senior year. Every Friday, members wear white T-shirts and jeans and no makeup to highlight inner beauty.

“Everyone has something that makes them unique and important,” Slezak, of Wheaton, told about a dozen students gathered for a Pretty People event Friday.

They were there to learn about services from the school’s student support office and to listen to music from A Solid State of Mind, a solo act featuring guitarist and vocalist Eric Youngberg, a Columbia College student.

“She is very ambitious,” Youngberg said of Slezak. “She is always wanting to help other people.”

Sue Taddeucci, a 14-year social worker in the student support office, also praised Slezak’s initiative.

“Sophie has really taken this in a new and different direction,” Taddeucci said.

On Friday, Slezak also tackled another issue she felt is holding teens back from their full potential: depression. So she instructed students to share their greatest fear and greatest dream on a piece of paper, an activity promoted by nonprofit To Write Love on her Arms.

After listening to Youngberg’s songs, inspired by his own history of anxiety and insomnia, students posed with those pieces of paper in front of a camera. Slezak plans to form a collage from the pictures — a tangible reminder of where they want to see their lives advance, despite their own doubts.

“I think it’s really important to find the positives out of your negatives,” Slezak said. “How can you find something to get you to your biggest dream?”