As a woman in today’s overly-criticized world, it's so easy to feel like I am not enough. Not pretty enough, not skinny enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, etc. The list could go on for days and that itself is disgusting. A large amount of adolescent girls and grown women face serious confidence and body image issues, some so bad that it consumes their lives by turning into eating disorders or anxious behavior leaning towards depression. But why? Why are we so concerned with how our body looks compared to the girl across the yoga studio? Why are we so concerned with how our legs look compared to the runner we just passed? Why are we so concerned with how our hips are shaped compared to the girl with the “perfectly” proportioned body? Of course we shouldn’t be — but I know this is easier said than done.
Personally, I have faced body image issues for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it has been so bad that my denying it causes fights between myself (rather, the demons that are controlling me) and people that I love. I have instilled worry in my family, in my friends, and in people I encounter on any given day that see me as a fragile object that could break at the slightest touch. I’ve put my body through the ringer in order to feel confident in a bikini. I’ve ignored my needs just so I could tell people my jeans were a size zero. I’ve almost permanently damaged my body because I wanted to be skinnier than every other girl I saw. How many of you have done the same thing? Or worse? More than I’d like to know, I’m sure. Again I’ll ask… Why?
We do this because we’re striving for this "perfection" that is practically shoved down our throats on a daily basis. Photoshopped bodies in magazines and on TV, over-edited Instagram photos, and overtly forward ads, featuring only pictures of seriously toned women, favoring “detox” teas or “magic” pills, all of which are complete BS if you ask me. The way we treat our bodies is tragic. You only get one so why are you starving it of nutrients essential for proper function? Why are you working out past the point of exhaustion leaving your muscles in pain? Why are you depriving yourself of the rest you deserve, the rest that will benefit you and get you to your goal quicker? Make it stop, alright?
The other day I had an epiphany. My body is incredible. So is yours. Our legs take us for miles every day, our shoulders and arms carry the weight of our backpacks and whatever else we choose to hold, our chest carries our heart even when it’s so heavy with emotion we can’t breathe, our heads protect our brains even when we feel like it’s the size of a pea. The entirety of our being is encased in this phenomenal vessel that does so much for us no matter what we weigh or how deeply you can see the contour of our bones. We have to stop trying to attain a body that isn’t ours and continue working on making the one we already inhabit something we can love and be proud of.
You only get one body, you only get one chance at life. Don’t spend it being unhappy with what you see in the mirror, rather live trying to see the beauty in the vessel you inhabit. Do all that you can to nourish it and treat it well. Get your heart rate up at least three times per week, eat all the things (in moderation) but don’t feel guilty, empower the women you see working on themselves too and keep in mind that everyone is different. Our bodies function differently, our bodies look differently, our bodies are different. Let’s work on loving and appreciating them all, beginning with our own.
