Ladies,

I think we've all asked ourselves this question before, "What if the world was different? What if I didn't have to conform to the social pressure to be the perfect object?" (excuse me...woman)

What if we lived in a world where dieting didn’t exist? Where our relationship with food wasn’t a battle? What if when we met people, we saw people and not bodies? What if men treasured women, respected them and treated them like royalty? And if in turn, the women showed off their inner personalities and beauty instead of painting their faces and spending money to buy the latest fashion?

There's no question that our world is imperfect.

From the time we were little, we knew that we lived in a world of over-sexualization and beauty was the end goal. Going to the grocery store as young kids, we saw the magazines by the checkouts, filled with beautiful, bikini-clad women. For girls, this became the start of an ingraining in our heads. That is what we were taught to strive for: a tiny waist, long, thin legs, and flawless hair. Little boys saw these images and began to think that that is what they should have. If they are enough, they can get the ‘prize’ of these beautiful women.

But I’m not going to go on complaining about the media and its portrayal of bodies, or the way that many wonderful women have been (mis)treated by men because that’s the world we live in. We can’t change that. Our minds have grown up in this world, and there are some things that will stick with us forever, in the way that we think. Even though I wish that I could change the way my mind has processed some information, I just can't. So, instead of dwelling on the past and its impact on us today, let's move forward with the things that can be changed.

But there are a few things that could be changed. What if, when the topic of women came up, one man didn’t join in on the sexual jokes? What if he refused to rate a woman on her figure? What if instead, he chooses to say that women are a treasure and should be treated as such?

And then, what if women acted like treasures? What if we believed our inner self was enough and they let our personalities be our shining light? What if we just unashamedly loved who we are and who we were created to be?

Thinking about this to myself, I can hardly imagine a world like this. As a young woman, I know that I am guilty of being a filthy, rotten piece of garbage sometimes. I don’t always believe or treat myself in a way that demands respect. I buy into the message that I need to paint my face and perfect my body and become that object to be worthy enough to be accepted.

At the end of the day, we're all guilty of being less than we should be. The point is, is that we’re in a cycle. It’s a cycle of misunderstanding and hurt, brought on my consequences of the world we live in. We can’t change the images we’re shown and the way that we’ve been trained to think about ourselves and each other.

But, we can break the cycle, sometimes. Sometimes, we will break free of the grasp that our brain has put us in and we’ll get it right. We'll take the "What If's" that we imagine the world could be and we'll put it into action. It’s during these times when we can’t be timid about it. Ladies, shout to the world that you feel great about yourself and your body. And, men, stand up for the objectification of women. We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our little piece of the world.