With millions of images surrounding us every second on social media, it’s hard to figure out what is real and what is photoshopped. Dana Patterson, a mid-sized body-positive model and activist represents the real and raw side of Instagram. With all her photos remaining unretouched, she is able to show women all over the world that beauty comes in a million different forms… but true beauty starts from within.
Before following Dana my senior year of high school, I hadn’t owned a two-piece bathing suit since 5th grade. This all changed when I saw her in an #AerieReal campaign. Seeing someone who had a body like mine who ROCKED a bathing suit and showed her confidence in doing so, made me believe it was possible for me too. She has recently worked with the #AerieReal campaign, been featured online for People magazine and Shape magazine, spreading her message of body positivity and inclusion for all women.
I was lucky enough to talk to Dana about confidence, female empowerment, self care and the highlights of her career. Here’s what she had to say:
AT: When do you feel most confident?
DP: That depends on so many factors. It can come from having a really great day or week at work, when I’ve had a really good meditation. It can also come from being with my friends and that’s when I feel really good and whole within myself. I also feel confident when creating art whether it’s being in front of or behind a camera. I’ve always loved creating beautiful imagery and that’s what I’m really passionate about.
“The minute I switched my life from selfishly wanting to be successful to ‘What Can I Do To Help Others?’ I felt more fulfilled and confident by being of service to other people.”
AT: What does female empowerment mean to you?
DP: I’m a firm believer that female empowerment is all about inclusion. Including and empowering all kinds of women: fat women, trans women, queer women, black women, women of color, and women in poverty. You have to include and lift up and empower ALL women, not just women that are the industry’s standard or are technically accepted and beautiful. I also am a firm believer that it is really important for us to uplift and bring forward the voices of women who are less privileged than us. I spend a lot of time mentoring and coaching young girls from less privileged areas, and it’s really important for their voices to be heard and for those people to be uplifted and brought to the forefront. I think it’s really important if you are all about female empowerment to use your voice to uplift those who are less privileged and that’s really the most important thing about female empowerment to me.
AT: How do you practice self care?
DP: I practice self care through going to therapy, journaling, taking time to myself, and listening to my body and my mind when I need a break which can be really tough because I am a workaholic. Right now I’m working on learning when to give myself a day off. Another thing that I’ve been working on recently is cutting out toxic people in my life. I think one of the highest forms of self care is being willing to cut out negative people and having boundaries. Know that it’s okay to say no and know that it’s okay to cut negative people out of your life that aren’t willing to make positive changes to themselves.
AT: What have been some of the most fulfilling parts of your career thus far?
DP: Some of the most fulfilling parts of my career has been meeting my followers and meeting people that have followed me for such a long time and being able to connect and hear their stories and connect with each other. In my life, I’ve always wanted to be in a career that was able to help people. I’ve always been really active in a lot of volunteer work. I feel incredibly blessed to have a career where I can touch so many people and have a platform to reach the amount of people I’ve been able to connect with. Also, if you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’ve coached and mentored for so many years. Being able to help those kids get scholarships, get better grades, succeed in life, and teaching them about confidence and self worth has been the most fulfilling part of my life. It is the most important part of my existence. I know that God put me on this earth to work in this kind of field. I hope to be able to touch and positively affect many more people in this way.
AT: I’ve noticed that you struggle with anxiety just like I and many of your other followers do. How have you worked to overcome some of your anxiety & what do you find helps when you’re in this kind of situations?
DP: This question is difficult for me because conquering my anxiety is a work in progress. I find that supplements, meditation, yoga, journaling, and exercising helps me a lot. I take a magnesium supplement, kava kava, I also take a tincture from Organic Olivia called “Moon Juice” and another called “Peace Juice”. Both of those tinctures have a lot of benefits for people who have anxiety and depression. It’s definitely very personal, it’s all about trial and error and figuring out what will work for you, because everybody’s body is different and has different chemistry, but I would definitely recommend journaling.
AT: What advice would you give to girls who are trying to gain self-confidence?
DP: The first thing I would say is to be very mindful about what you’re taking in on social media. We are quick to follow people on social media without thinking about how that’s affecting us subconsciously. Really go through who you’re following on social media and make sure that every account you follow is an account that is benefitting your mental health and your positive mindset towards yourself and others. Secondly, as I mentioned before, I really love journaling and really recommend getting a great counselor or therapist if you are able … if you are not privileged to have access to that I would recommend trying out an app. These will help you unpack your issues with your body, yourself, and really get to the core of why you don’t feel confident. Although I can give out advice on my personal experience… I am not an expert so I think seeing a certified professional is very important. Another thing is to be mindful about who you are surrounding yourself with because these people can have a huge effect on how we feel about ourselves. Additionally, developing my personal style has helped… really honing in on what makes me feel good and confident, whether it’s clothes, makeup or music, helps me to gain confidence.
“Just remember that it’s a constant process to learn to love yourself and gain self confidence.”
AT: What Instagram accounts do you follow that inspire you?
DP: There are so many that I’m probably going to forget most of them.
Some are:
@lilsipper – She is truly amazing and inspiring. She inspires me everyday to push myself and keep going. She is a genuinely incredible person.
@ethereal.1 – She’s a really incredible human being and healer… she and I have been following each other for a really long time. She’s stayed very authentic and real. She has a great spirit and is very inspiring to me
@kenziebrenna – She’s truly incredible, I really love and appreciate her voice and inspiration.
@luhshawnay – She’s one of my faves to follow as well.
AT: What would you do if you weren’t a model?
DP: If I wasn’t modeling anymore I would go back to coaching. I’ve coached throughout my modeling career until this year when things got way too crazy. I was coaching, modeling and doing influencer work all full time. I love working with kids and would definitely do full time coaching again.
AT: I’ve noticed that you deal with trolls on your Instagram pretty frequently. What’s your advice for handling others’ criticism?
DP: It’s been a long journey. I remember when I first started blowing up on Instagram I was so hurt by the comments that I received and it was really tough. My mom always says that when I was first born she knew that this wasn’t my first trip around the sun, that I was an old soul and that I’ve been here before. When I receive mean or trolling comments like that I know that it has nothing to do with me, it’s a complete reflection of them. Now I’m really unbothered by it, it kind of makes me laugh. So if you’re going through something where you’re being bullied in real life or on the internet, please understand it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. You’re clearly a threat to them with your strength and light so that’s why people feel the need to attempt to knock you down. So keep shining, don’t let that affect you in any way, just know that your light is so bright that others will feel the need to try to dim you.
Huge thanks to Dana Patterson for taking the time to share her wisdom and talk with me!
*Responses have been edited for length.