Jordie Poo & Sadie, too.

Hello,

As you may already know, my name is Jordan and I am a graduate from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. I grew up on the beach in New Jersey where I found a passion for dance and a love for the ocean. After high school, I attended George Mason, where I studied Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. I have done most of my research and studying in eating disorders, hoping to impact the psychology community with my personal experience and knowledge.

In 2012 I founded an on-campus organization called BeYOUtiful, focused on positive body image at George Mason University. I was also a leadership consultant at the Leadership office on campus, as well as  being involved with the Office of Housing and Residence Life where I was a Resident Advisor of freshman students for three years. I recently became the co-founder of the Northern Virginia chapter for the national non-profit, Project HEAL (Help to Eat, Accept andLive), in October of 2013.

Over a year ago, I started some of my own research on social media use and adolescent girls regarding body image. I found that there is no organization that is focused on preventing the development of an eating disorder from a social media stance. I since then have begun the process of starting a new non-profit, called The Pretty Mission.

My inspiration to start The Pretty Mission came to me while scrolling through Instagram late one evening. I had noticed that a young girl posted a screen shot of different emoji icons, representing different characteristics. For example, the hamburger emoji had the word FAT next to it. I could not believe what I was seeing, the young girl was only 9 years of age! After posting this screen shot, her followers then commented with the emoji icons they thought represented her. While there were some positive representations, there were also many negative ones.

This shocked me for multiple reasons. I could not believe that a 9-year-old would think such things about herself or her peers, and I also had a hard time knowing the parent was not monitoring the social media usage. I knew what kind of bullying I struggled with as a young girl, and that part of the “fat talk” repercussions turned into an eating disorder for me. It was then I decided to research any kind of prevention organization for girls to participate with, and I found nothing! I was able to locate plenty of awareness and education programs for eating disorders, but all of the organizations indicated treatment for an eating disorder, meaning the people involved were post diagnosis. I thought to myself; what about prevention?

I came up with the idea of The Pretty Mission to make every girl feel pretty. Whether this means wearing overalls and pony tails, or a tutu and curls, whatever they thought pretty was! I started the mission with four basic questions, asking each participant to answer them. This really showed the ideas of pretty with the age group. Even though all the girls were asked the same four questions, their answers varied quite a bit. I really want to stress uniqueness with the mission in order to help break the stigma of what pretty may mean in Hollywood. These girls do not need to idolize anyone but themselves! 

Supporting breast cancer survivors is also a main focus of mine, as my mother was diagnosed when I was just a teenager. In the spring of 2008, I started a traveling team called A Key to the Cure, where I participate and fundraise for various breast cancer organizations. A Key to the Cure has participated in Relay for Life in New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the Susan G. Komen 3-day walk in Washington, D.C..

I have taken these experiences and my research into my writing. In 2015 my memoir, Refuse to Sink, will be published with the help of my favorite author, and fellow eating disorder survivor, Marya Hornbacher! The memoir will be a part of a recovery series, including Steer Your Life, Continue to Float, and Save Your Soul. These books will be more towards recovery in everyday life and different stages of recovery, rather than my experiences that lead me to an eating disorder.

I am mom to a 1 year-old boxer, Sadie, who definitely keeps me on my toes! Sadie was the runt of her litter and came from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. Though she was born Amish, she has found a love for the car, especially with the windows down! Even though Sadie can be rambunctious at times, she is my breath of fresh air on a rainy day. Sure, she gets into the garbage, drinks from the toilet, licks her butt and then gives her mommy kisses, no matter how dirty or messy she is, I can't imagine life without her.

I am addicted to coffee, pure barre, writing and reading! I will be posting "the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between". I have designated a page on my blog to my favorite things, including whatever song I have on repeat for that particular week, what book I'm currently reading and some other blogs I follow. I also have a page designated to contacting me, whether you like or dislike my blog, want to know more about me, or want to share who you are! Please give me feedback, I am new at this and want any advice! I love talking to people and meeting new friends, so don't be shy, tell me about yourself!

xx,

j