Being comfortable with our bodies entails a lot of things. Some people believe it involves looking fit and healthy, others believe it takes glowing skin to be comfortable. A set of people perceive it as wearing beautiful clothes and using makeup. It is true that these options enhance body confidence but is all that there is to it?
I remember being 16 and looking older than my peers. As if I wasn’t insecure enough about that, people would make comments like “wow, I thought you were 25 and had at least a child already”. I did feel ashamed but in reality, I didn’t look any different from anybody else. I was just a normal teenager with a different body size.
Why then should I be looked at differently? Does it stop me from being a person? No. Did I grow a second head because I was fat? No. Do these things really matter? I don’t think so. What matters is how you perceive yourself.
Bodies will always look different and that is what we fail to understand. We’re very quick to compare ourselves with people and wish we were them. But let me ask you if you were really that person you so wish to become, wouldn’t you still be different? I don’t think anyone can love you the way you can love yourself.
While social media is a great place for fun and inspiration, it can get a little intimidating. It’s alright for people to do whatever they want, actually. Which is why you should do whatever you want. Bodies can never take the same shape. If they could, I would be a very hot woman by now with literally no belly fat and a very tiny, non-existent waist. But that’s not going to happen. It is very important for you to be comfortable with your own body.
Learning to embrace yourself? That’s the greatest kind of love that exists to me. Getting fit/ staying fit, using great skin care products, wearing beautiful clothes, and using make-up are all great ways to love yourself more. But relying on them so much will eventually become a problem. Because you have to love yourself even at your worst.
