Everyday candidates that are eligible for comparison: ratio of peanut butter to jelly, the length of hair on the sides of your face, your foot to your shoe size, the fastest routes to get to class. Checking that list again, or if you noticed it the first time, people aren’t included. That list doesn’t include “each other” or “our bodies”. Our bodies aren’t platforms for comparison, and as women, we need to take pride in our bodies: every inch of skin and every atom of beautiful human that lies beneath it. Each body is an individualized, carefully sculpted temple that we should not only accept, but that we should embrace and be proud of. Too often we are put down not only by others, but by the evil voice inside ourselves, telling us to be better in too many ways. Not only is this pressure unhealthy, but also unnecessary.
When you acknowledge your body as something more than a subject needing constant renovation and improvement, you realize your body is your only true home! Our bodies are truly our only forever permanent homes; this being said, you are free to decorate it and shape it as you please. It is yours! There is complete freedom and beauty in this. Get excited! Someone up there or wherever they are has given you this permanent home you have the luxury of calling your own, to be together with forever, and nobody can take that away from you.
Since I can remember, the media has been a constant reminder of what “perfection” should look like on the faces and bodies of celebrities, instagram promoters and supermodels. It is intimidating to believe that your own body should mirror the same aesthetic that is so highly glorified. Our generation is exposed to these “models” daily, as they are too readily available and easy accessible with the simple touch of a button. Constantly we hate on parts of ourselves that are unalike these mannequin esque people; we stare blankly into voiceless mirrors questioning our touching thighs and stretch marks and wondering why we can’t be the right kind of flawless. The most harmful part of self hate, and picking parts of yourself that you don’t love, is in the way it conceals the parts of you that you do love. Hate begets hate but even more importantly, love begets love! You should be confident in loving yourself and having favorite parts of yourself. By illuminating your favorite parts of yourself, you can flaunt your beauty in a way that makes you feel great.
Underneath all of the pressure is the desire to be happy. Many girls think that if they are able to achieve this “perfect” body status, then they will truly be happy, and this may be true… for some people, however this can result in women being hard on themselves.. Other people, myself included, find happiness in indulging and constantly refueling with my favorite foods and Dominos lava cakes as often as possible, and if that is what makes you happy then who cares about living up to a transparent standard?! Of course it is normal to feel vulnerable and it is a natural human instinct to compare, but as strong confident women, we have to ween ourselves off the comparison method and fuel our confidence with the pride we have in ourselves and we can only do that by loving ourselves and uplifting others! The only goal you should be working toward is being happy with yourself, and whatever you have to do to be that way! Some people truly find enjoyment in working out and abiding by strict diet and meal plans. If you aren’t sure
what makes you happy, don’t be afraid to experiment with different ways of living your life! Find what you love and share your love with everyone, being who you are and loving the skin you’re in is the most important part of this life.
What matters most is the love you give yourself and the happiness you make for yourself through doing things you enjoy. The most important part of who you are is who you are, not what you look like. The scale can only tell you a meaningless, powerless number, but your confidence when you look at yourself in the mirror, or that you feel inside yourself, can dominate any irrelevant number flashing on that dumb plastic pedestal. Take pride in your fabulous personality and brilliant mind because you’re amazing however you are and you don’t need anyone telling you otherwise. Don’t forget to love yourself first today and every single day and know that you are absolutely beautiful.