We all have that nagging voice inside of our head that points out our imperfections and flaws. The voice that keeps us up late at night with thoughts that can ruin our self-esteem. The one that compares our own body to that of other people, and the one that says we aren't good enough for the rest of the world. But why aren't we good enough? What is wrong with being too tall, having pale skin, too big of love handles, or any other insecurities that keeps us up late at night? The answer is nothing. There is nothing wrong with any of these things. Society has made us believe that if we don't have a perfectly symmetrical, toned, and thin body then we are not good enough for the rest of our peers.
I've been stressed out recently over the inconvenient timing of summer and the lack of my "summer bod". I started to worry about being seen in bathing suits and shorts wondering if people would start to notice a change in my body since the end of my freshman year. I was beginning to add this self doubt in my head that without the muscular tone my body once had from high school sports and the gain of a few pounds from college that people would start to judge my own appearance. These thoughts took over my conscience and it had a toll on how I viewed myself. I started doubting my own self worth and thought that these transformations downgraded my personality and lessened myself as a person.
While spending countless hours worrying about these silly insecurities, I began to realize that only I was creating this self doubt within myself. There wasn't someone standing next to me voicing all of the concerns that I speculated in my head. Other people weren't telling me that if my body changed it would affect my worthiness to my peers. No, these were all things that I was telling myself. I put these uncertainties within my own head, no one else put them there. I was the only person putting myself down. When I began to realize that this constant judgement I put on myself caused self hatred, I knew it was time to change my outlook on these imperfections.
I'm sure everyone has those flaws about themselves they wish they could change, or certain things they aren't particularly satisfied with, but they are what make us unique. They set us apart from every other individual, so why should we feel shame in the way our bodies look? Why change something so magnificent about ourselves that will end up just being another way of conforming to society? Instead of obsessing over the things that we can't change in ourselves, we should try to focus on all of the great things we already possess.
I say it's time that we stop telling ourselves that we are not good enough for the rest of our peers. It's time to put an end to body shaming, once and for all. Let's stop bashing the way we appear and start embracing ourselves for the way we are. It's time we put an end to this self hatred and begin the new era of body empowerment. Let's stop the judgement we place on ourselves. Let's start accepting ourselves for the way we are, flaws and all.
