So, today I was talking to a friend about how society views one’s self-worth which led into the topic of the negative body image that young people tend to have. Even though today, the world is celebrating being “curvy,” there is still a good amount of people that hate their body.
I was one of them once.
Being a dancer, I was always surrounded by these stick figure girls with long, elegant necks so when I hit puberty and started to gain weight with every piece of food I ate, I started to hate what I looked like which really negatively impacted my views on myself. I developed poor eating habits. I’d binge eat and then starve myself for days. I looked at and measured my waistline in the mirror constantly. Because I hated my body so much, it made me insecure about not only my appearance but everything else from academics to dance. It took a long time to finally love the body I’m in and accept everything about me.
I had to realize that I’m stuck in this body for, well, ever. Nothing about that was going to change. I could look at a million skinny, tall, glamorous models and wish I was them but that was never going to happen. So I decided to love the body that I was given and take care of it. Finally embracing my appearance gave me the confidence I needed to succeed in school and dance. I could finally be proud of a dress that flattered my figure and walk into math class feeling positive. I started going to the gym on a regular basis and making better food choices. I felt so self-assured that I would go days without wearing makeup (which at the time, was HUGE for me). In short, I simply started to not care about whether the world had an opinion on me or not. I wasn’t trying to impress people. I just wanted to be myself and that’s what I did.
Let me break it down for you…
If you wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and immediately think to yourself, “ew what is this gremlin and why am I her/him?” That way of thinking will not do anything to boost your self-esteem. Try instead complimenting yourself every day, even if you don’t believe it at first. Say it aloud. It could be ranging from, “dang I really like my cheekbones,” to, “you’re smart and yes, you can understand the laws of quantum electrodynamics.” Soon enough, you will believe it.
This doesn’t mean you should stop going to the gym and eating healthy, though. It’s all about doing things in moderation as well as finding the motivation to actually get up and be active. You have to find what works for you and run with it. Take care of yourself both physically and mentally, especially because you have only one shot at your life and if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to miss out on a single thing. Once you let go of the voices in your head that are saying you’re not good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough, etc., you can live without limits. So go love yourself. You’ll enjoy life more when you do.
