Acne Squeezes a Scholarship!

by Krista Michelle Arrigo

Like we always say, there are a ton of ways to get scholarship money. Emily Grigg and Susan Lister can testify to that -- they each won a $1,000 "Higher Education Grant" for writing about their anxiety over acne!

When the two girls heard about the contest, they didn't let blemishes botch their chances to win. With clear heads, they entered the American Counseling Association's (ACA) Healthy Skin, Healthy Outlook 2002 campaign, which is designed to help teens cope with the impact of acne on their self-esteem. And guess what?! Their savviness and pimple-popping perspectives won the two divas cash for college!

Thanks to their grants, Emily, 21, now a senior at Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC, has extra funds for law school. Susan, 18, a freshman at the University of Delaware, Newark, DE, can take other courses aside from her required engineering classes. "Having that money gives me the opportunity to get further ahead in my studies," she says.

Aside from the extended learning possibilities their grants offer, Emily and Susan both agree there's another reason they entered the contest. The subject matter, "How acne has affected you or a friend," was something both girls could personally relate to.

"I felt like I had something to say about [the subject]," Susan says, who admits she's dealt with acne on a "daily basis." From her experiences, Susan says, she's come to terms with her skin. "Acne is something [a lot of people] go through; it's part of life."

Susan deals with her acne-prone skin by cleansing daily, but she doesn't let acne affect her confidence level. "It can ruin your day," she admits, "but there's only so much concern you can have about it. I don't dwell on it."

And, she says, you'll be surprised at how others don't focus on it, either. "You expect people to be grossed out," Susan says, "but they're not. People don't base what they think about you on the way you look."

In Emily's essay, she relays a similar message. She not only looks past the outside appearance of others, but she applies grace to herself as well. "Acne still plagues me at some times in my life," she says, "but pimples could not make me hate seeing my own reflection."

Since Emily and Susan are open to hearing advice on how to care for their skin, they consulted dermatologists.

"[The doctor] gave me the right products to clean my skin, and explained how to cleanse properly," Emily says. "I paid attention, and I continue to do what he suggested." Susan also follows instructions from her dermatologist. "I try to keep my face clean and use a prescription medicine," she says.

If you have acne anxiety like Emily and Susan, remember, you're not alone. Rather than allowing it to bring you down, see how you can turn it around and view it as a learning experience instead. You never know, it may even win you some scholarship dollars!