As a 90’s baby, we grew up constantly comparing ourselves to the beautiful actresses, models and celebrities of the 2000’s. We watched Stars like Britney Spears go from red carpet events to movie premieres wearing little tube tops and some skin tight jeans, and I remember looking down at my stomach and thinking “yeah I will never look like that, and I’ll definitely never be able to wear something like that.” That can do a lot of damage to a young girls self confidence, body positivity and overall self esteem, and it wasn’t just me. Most women in America (about 91%) have things they “hate about their bodies” and it’s time to own what we’ve got and flaunt it.
We’ve all been too hard on ourselves for most of our lives, and the best part of this day and age we are living in, is that it’s finally okay to be vocal about loving your body. Women have come a long way in the last decade as far as the empowerment of women, but important to see each other as allies and work with one another to keep moving forward to get to that “Brighter Tomorrow.” It takes a long time to become comfortable with yourself, after a lifetime of body shaming, but that’s okay. Work hard, tell yourself how thankful you are for your “big thighs” or “birthing hips” because honey, they are a part of YOU.
We focus so much on being other people’s version of perfect that we don’t even stop to ask ourselves, is this really who I am? 2017 was a big year for me when it came to loving myself and loving my body, I’ve always been content but something changed in me this last year. It wasn’t from a man, it wasn’t from losing weight or changing my appearance, it was from finding that true self love. We all have it buried inside us, and we can all find it if we just try. We are strong, we are powerful and we aren’t going anywhere.