Body Image

Touchy subject...When I was in 4th grade I was selected to perform a dance routine with 2 other girls in our spring concert.  My music teacher was gathering all three of us for "pre-game" make-up, and got my attention by saying "come over here, fat one of the group."  Come on, lady!! I was...wait, how old are you in 4th grade??  Whatever, I was way to young to be called FAT!!!  Maybe things would have been different if she would have said "come over here, one that looks like a boy even though you have a unitard on."  Let's face it, I was rockin the boy-look!  Anyway, I have NEVER forgotten that moment.  In fact, I often times (in my own unforgiving mind) refer to myself in the present as "The fat one of the group."

Watch what you say to a person, because what you say (and how you say it) can really impact their life.  I have spent my lifetime battling with the mirror, with my weight, and with my own self-confidence.  How many people out there fight the same battle each day?  I would imagine that there are way more than what we think. It's easy to hide it, as it goes on in your mind more than anything.  But what may come off as narcissism may actually be a very self-conscious person just trying to find something "good" about the way that they look. 

I have always had the curse of the "dun-lop," or "Muffintop," or "spare tire."  Damn you, beer!  Funny thing is, stopped eating bread and pasta on the reg, and lost about 20 pounds.  That was about two years ago.  It was life-changing, because for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I was able to accept my body!  Then the baby-factory got pregnant again, and here we are at square-one.  WHY??!!  Why can we (men, women, whomever) not embrace the fact that our bodies can do amazing things?  Why can we not look at what our bodies have acclomplished and be happy with that? 

The road to self-acceptance is bumpy.  Part of acheiving WWS is being able to look in the mirror for a moment to make sure everything is where it should be (apparently those details were missed the other day, when i realized at work that i had never bothered to button my pants), then walk away from that mirror without criticizing every square inch of that hot-mess that is reflecting.  Wonder Woman herself looks incredible in her little underpants, leotard, and high-boots get-up.  I'll bet her music teach never referred to her as "the fat one of the group."

So remember to try and say nice things to people, and comment on the things that are amazing about them...because maybe yours will be the comment that they remember for years to come.