I think one of the most complicated relationships a woman can have is the one she has with her own body. From a young age, we are surrounded by messages about what we should look like, what we should change and what makes us beautiful. We grow up learning to notice the little things about ourselves that don’t quite fit the image we’ve been taught to admire. Before we even have the chance to understand our bodies, we are often taught to critique them. We compare, we criticize, we wish certain things were different. Sometimes we forget that our bodies are not simply something to be looked at, but something that allows us to experience life. I think it’s time we start having a different conversation about the way women see themselves, one that is rooted less in appearance and more in appreciation, compassion and acceptance.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned to associate our worth with how we look. We learned that beauty was something to be measured, compared and constantly worked toward. Whether it was through magazines, television, social media, or even the casual comments we heard growing up, we were exposed to countless messages about what an ideal woman should look like. And as we get older, those messages become increasingly difficult to ignore. We find ourselves comparing our bodies to strangers on the internet, noticing every little imperfection in the mirror and convincing ourselves that we would feel more confident if only we looked a certain way. The unfortunate part is that there will always be something new to compare ourselves to, another beauty trend to keep up with, or another standard we feel we are falling short of. It becomes an exhausting cycle of trying to reach an ideal that was never meant to be attainable in the first place.
I hope that one day we can learn to look at ourselves with a little more kindness. I hope we can get dressed without criticizing our reflections, take pictures without worrying about how our bodies look and enjoy the moments we’re living in without constantly thinking about how we appear to others. I hope we stop treating our bodies like unfinished projects that need to be fixed before we can feel beautiful. Because our bodies have carried us through every season of our lives, through the happiest moments and the hardest ones. They deserve so much more than the criticism we so often give them. We don’t have to love every part of ourselves every single day and we don’t have to pretend that insecurities simply disappear. But we can choose to be gentler with ourselves. We can choose to appreciate our bodies for more than their appearance and recognize that our worth has never depended on fitting someone else’s definition of beauty. So, the next time you look in the mirror, try to see yourself as more than a collection of things you wish you could change. See a person who deserves kindness, patience and love.
You were never meant to spend your entire life trying to become comfortable in someone else’s idea of beautiful. You deserve to feel beautiful in a body that has always been yours.
