One thing I’ve always been insecure about is… my body. What
woman isn’t, right? And I’m sure guys have similar insecurities as well. I
don’t know why I’m insecure about my body. My parents never made me feel
inadequate. I wasn’t very popular at school, but I was never picked on about my
physical appearance. I was a bean pole. The only thing I fell below the bar on,
or at least other girls thought so, was my fashion. *shrugs shoulders* Maybe that
had something to do with it. Who knows?
Anyhoot, I am insecure about my body. Mostly the dreaded
mid-section – the love handles and the back fat. Most people who know me would
probably be saying “What fat?! You dance! How can you be out of shape?!”
My response… “I know… I know… I should be perfectly happy with my body and quit needling the small things."
But then that leads to other insecurities. “What does my
hair look like? What does my make-up look like? Am I dressed cute and trendy?”
And really – what does it matter?! If we spent as much time fully experiencing life as we do worrying about our appearance, we just might be actually LIVING life.
I write this as I’m on vacation. Last night, I tried to
dress up to achieve that “cute and trendy” look. Apparently I succeeded because
I went to a celebrity look-alike show where “Madonna” complimented me on being
so tall and looking like a model. “Dang…,” I thought. “What am I worried
about?”
After the show, the hubby and I went walking around at a
nearby park. I was feeling pretty stylish with my high heels on, but I was
quickly reminded not to take myself too seriously when one of those high heels
decided to give way. That’s right – my sole fell right off my shoe right there
in front of everyone. I gracefully tried to cover it up, seamlessly bending
down and pick up the rouge sole; however my gracefulness didn’t last long…
There went the other shoe. The exact same thing. Sole gone. “What in the
world?!” I think to myself while my husband tries to hide his chuckles.
Initially, my pride was, of course, hurt. But why should it be? I just started
laughing with my husband. (I might as well, right? Laughing is more fun than
hurt pride, after all.) My hubby helped me back out to the car (both of us chuckling the whole way), and I found
another pair of shoes – flats that definitely suited me better, much more my
personality and a lot less painful. I actually felt like myself again, which
lead me to my thoughts…
Why do we continually try to impress other people and worry
about what other people think? Why do we stray from “ourselves?” Why not just
do things to make ourselves feel good instead of trying to make ourselves look
good in the eyes of others especially strangers.
Someone once asked me (maybe a preacher giving a sermon?):
Why do we always try to impress other people? Moreover, why do we always try to
impress strangers? They don’t know us. Sometimes we care more about what strangers
think instead of those we know and love. (Guilty…) How stupid is that,
right? Instead, we should be trying to impress the ones we know and love and
not by physical looks but by ethics and morals. Even more important is
impressing ourselves. Not with how well our hair looks today or how much our
eyeliner allows our eyes to pop, but simply by being ourselves, being happy,
and sticking to whatever our beliefs and ethics are. You can be the most
beautiful, stunning, drop-dead model in the world, but you’re nothing unless
you have a backbone, a smart mind, and the heart to be yourself and stand up
for what you believe in.
If dressing up makes YOU feel good, dress to the nines! But
if you’d rather wear a comfortable pair of shorts and a slinky tank, go for it.
It all rests with how you feel about yourself and living in YOUR skin the way it
was designed for YOU. Not conforming to the image that society (or anyone else,
for that matter) designs.
I’m still on vacation, and I’m using the rest of it to live
and be how I want to be - comfortable in my own skin, doing things my
way, and dressing and looking the way I see fit. I’ve only been doing it
just this morning, but I already feel better and MUCH more comfortable. Now to
enjoy some beach time… MY WAY!! And who cares if I don’t have the perfect beach
body. I’m here to soak up rays, read a book, and relax with my hubby. (And he
seems to think my body looks just fine. Why am I worried about impressing
anyone else?)
Chin up, Buttercups! Fling the door to the world wide open
and strut your stuff. Have a great self-loving day, ya’ll!!
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| Don't Change So People Will Like You. Be Yourself and the Right People Will Love the Real You! |
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