Hey there, gorgeous!
I hope you’re doing well today. I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re great. In fact, I think you’re pretty, all day and every day. With makeup or without it. You are you.
Now, let’s talk about you and the way you look at yourself.
I can’t begin to tell you how often I hear from one of my friends say, “I hate my body.” On a rough day, I even find myself thinking it. I hope that you don’t feel that way, but I know sometimes it can be frustrating trying to obtain that “perfect body.” But here’s a newsflash: there’s no such thing. Everyone has their own idea of what makes up a perfect body, and many times that includes curves and long legs with a flat stomach and a tan (or whatever else you think makes up a perfect body). Many times the perfect body is a man’s idea of what you should look like. And here’s another newsflash: most of us don’t look like that.
So what are you worried about? Men? If that’s your main concern, it shouldn’t be. Believe it or not, you don’t need to look like a super model to get a guy’s attention. However, that shouldn’t be your reason for hating or wanting to improve your body.
You should want to change your body because it makes you a healthy and better you. I have spent the last four years dancing non-stop and finding myself in shape because of it. While some days I regret my lazy behavior and feel gross about it, I love my body. I don’t continue to work out because I feel like I need to be thinner. I work out to improve myself and keep myself in shape. I want to be better for ME.
And I want you to feel and think the same way. Even if I didn’t want to stay fit and continue to exercise, I would still like my body as it is. Because it’s MINE. My body has given me the ability to dance for the last twenty years of my life. My body has carried me on adventures through Europe. My body has grown and nourished me as I have gotten older. It is mine and I love it for that.
Which is why I am asking you, my lovely friend, to take a time out and think about the reasons why you love your body. Everybody has insecurities; and everybody has things about themselves that they don’t like. But your body is yours and yours alone, so please love it… because it is the only body you have.
Stay beautiful,
Sydney