Over the past year, I realized how much I put others before myself. I cared so much about being what others wanted while ignoring the fact that my behaviors just weren’t genuinely “me.”
I have found this to be mostly true with guys. I am sure I am not the only one with this assumption, but I have always felt inferior to the expectations of guys. Not pretty enough, skinny enough, girly enough, smart enough, don’t party enough — the list goes on. I always assumed that I was weird and that guys would realize that and move on.
The thing is, these expectations can drive you crazy. I personally struggled with depression and an eating disorder because of these second-grade feelings. These conditions did not arise simply because of the unfair expectations of guys these days, but they also have much to do with social media.
Today, I saw a post on a Fitness Instagram. This post glamorized consuming 1,200 calories a day in order to look like the girl in the photo. This just pissed me off to no end. Why would you tell girls to eat this way? It’s not just boys that influence how I see myself, it is the way I compare myself to other girls that I think are better than me.
But, the truth is that these girls aren’t any better than you. These girls are advocating an unhealthy eating routine that could potentially lead to eating disorders to look a certain way.
This is BULLSHIT.
It appears that the media and others are defining how we should look and be. However, after a few years of trying to be exactly that, I was completely miserable and lost. It’s not worth it to be like everyone else.
If a guy tells you that you aren’t “enough,” he can go to hell. Be patient, because we all deserve to be brought up rather than down. Stand up for who you are. It’s much better to be you.