Ladies, we come with love handles, stretch marks, cellulite and all, but rarely has there been anyone who can truly accept that fact.
We have a strong desire for the acceptance of men and those around us. We want the football players and that handsome drummer boy to notice us. We want them to finally see us. But we cannot get to this point unless we come to grips with learning how to accept ourselves first. We need to learn how to love our bodies, our flaws, and our beautiful imperfections before we can let anyone else do the same.
One must learn how to gain confidence from within.
It starts with your mind set and the way you choose to view yourself. If you always compare your body to those size four models or the girls on the beach with the hourglass figures, then you will not get anywhere.
One must give themselves some acknowledgement.
We must become fully naked inside and out, look into the mirror, and give ourselves a compliment every once in a while. In order to build yourself up, you cannot put yourself down with words such as, “I’m not good enough,” or, “I wish I had a body like hers.” Truth is, ladies, she has the same insecurities as you. She may not show it as much and she may even look like she has all of the confidence in the world, but she is not completely happy.
Sure, there are those women every once in a while that you may come across who truly do have all of that confidence about their bodies. They have learned how to love themselves. They have learned to not care about what others think of them. They have learned how their bodies work. They have learned what it means to accept themselves. I truly believe that it’s important that we all learn how to do this because confidence is beauty and your beauty is flawless.
Life is not about changing oneself and body to fit into the standards of others.
We come in all shapes and sizes: tall, short, skinny, thick, curves, no curves, big waists, and small thighs and the list goes on and on. Who comes up with these standards and expectations anyways? It’s up to young women like ourselves to stand up for our imperfections.
We must to learn how to love ourselves.
Sure we can possibly eat two carrot sticks instead of one. We can even hit the gym for a couple of minutes and then run back home out of terror (or just do what I do and take the bus). But, let me tell you, it is perfectly fine to accept the body that you are in. Almost all women have love handles and many women are truly big boned. We all come with different shapes, sizes, and curves. It doesn’t help to compare ourselves to those who may look different from you or have qualities that you may prefer.
Instead of trying so drastically to try and change your body, why not embrace it?
Embrace your beauty and imperfections and give yourself some empowerment. Then we won’t feel the need to chase after the football ball team and we won’t long for the attention of the cute boy band because, soon, they’ll be drooling over us and how we carry ourselves with such poise and power. Once we even make the slightest effort to do this then we can say to the world, “I am in control of my body and love every part about it. I can handle my love, but can you?”