A message to my younger self and anyone else that needs it,
I want to tell you that you are beautiful, intelligent, kind, funny, hardworking, the list goes on. You may hear comments from other girls in the school hallways, mothers on the phones with their friends, and women at family gatherings making seemingly casual comments about their own and other women’s bodies. They may praise another about their thinness, express their jealousy of a Kardashian’s curves and make self-degrading comments about the appearance of their arms. On social media, we can find hundreds of thousands of posts and products promising quick weight loss, diet “hacks” and “what I eat in a day’s” consisting of little to no fuel. Posts that may be edited in a way to show a thinner waist, or less food than what is actually true. As much as we hear and see these things all the time and they may be perceived as “normal”, they unfortunately can be quite harmful.
Messages of thinness equalling healthier, prettier, more successful and happier women are
everywhere. They often make us believe that we aren’t thin enough to be considered any of
these things and may make us think and do things that can hurt us both mentally and physically. In reality, striving for an unrealistically thin and “fit” body can result in anxiety, social isolation and even worsening body image. We may sacrifice our performance in sports, school and even just our abilities to be good friends. I can attest to these feelings through my own personal history of striving for thinness and an “acceptable” body. As much as I thought that if I made myself smaller, if I ate a little less, if I exercised a little harder, I would be satisfied and confident with my body and myself. The more and more I pushed, the more these feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and isolation worsened and the farther and farther I pushed away the feelings of acceptance and fulfillment that I always thought would result. You wanna know what actually worked? Fuelling myself properly with a variety of foods and focusing my attention on the things and people that truly bring me joy rather than what my body looks like. As much as that sounds so simple, I know how much easier it is said than done, but it is so so worth it.
I want you to know that all bodies are beautiful, and in fact, our bodies really are the least
important things about us. Women can be powerful, brave, loving, adventurous, athletic,
generous, funny, creative, smart and compassionate. Don’t shrink yourself down, when you
have so much to offer the world. You are loved and worthy just the way you are.
With so much love,
Ashlyn
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