As many of you may know, October 21st was National Love Your Body Day. Personally, I can get behind a life of loving my body.
I realized that before I moved to the U.S., I had very different standards for beauty. The women I idolized were strong and fit, independent, motivated, smart and confident. My mom is a perfect example. She was the chief physician of a hospital and on the weekends, she put on her over-rolls and worked on our farm. I admired her physical and emotional strength, hoping that someday, I can do as much as her for my community and loved ones.
American culture changed my perceptions of beauty. As a teenager, I worried more about physical appearance, striving for a skinny ideal I saw on TV and magazines. I moved away from appreciating the body I have and concentrated on the body I thought I was supposed to have.
Today, I’m still working on reshaping how and where I see myself as a woman in this world. Re-channeling my energies into what my body is capable of and being grateful for the legs, arms, eyes, ears and every little birthmark that I have is helping me get there. Like many things in life, it’s a work in progress.
I recently stumbled upon an article in Shape Magazine, which I clipped and pasted into my journal. I like this list a lot and thought it would be nice to share the goods:
8 Reasons to Start Loving Your Body Today
- Because it’s unique; no one else has the same one.
- Because it’s capable of extraordinary feats, enabling you to run, climb, jump, lift, squat, snuggle, and spoon.
- Because no matter how badly you treat it, it’s willing to give you another chance.
- Because it’s expressive, telling you how it feels (pay attention!) and broadcasting to others how you feel about it.
- Because, let’s face it, confidence is pretty sexy.
- Because your daughter must learn to love hers.
- Because somebody out there (or many somebodies!) admires, covets, and adores it.
- Because you’ll regret not loving it more later.
I only have this one body. And rather than pick at my imperfections and compare myself to others, I’d like to treat it right and be grateful to it for letting me experience life how I wish.
Jamaica, 2008
What does beauty mean to you?
Really loved this post!
Katie
Aw Olga, this post made me smile! That jamaica picture is adorable!
And I think it’s important to love our bodies since yes, we most likely WILL have daughters who deserve to love their own bodies…instead of growing up in a world that can convince them otherwise.
Happiness=beauty!
Great post, Olga! Your reasons to love your body are really inspiring, thanks!
And that’s an adorable picture of you from Jamaica!
Hi Olga! I just stumbled upon your blog from Brittany’s site. I LOVE this post. I think the last point is especially true. Why not love our bodies?
Beauty to me is self-confidence and respecting oneself.
http://www.ohonemorething.wordpress.com
What a great post Olga!!!! I’m def writing all those things down and going to try to think of them more often…there are too many days i waste away worrying about how i look!!
you are so beautiful!!!
OLGA
!! this post makes me smile so big! and your absolutely right, why limit loving our body to one mere day? it should be a lifelong celebration!
beauty to me is in having strong arms to hug the ones you love, and strong legs to carry you through life
Thank you so much for this post!
I absolutely loved the 8 Reasons to Love Your Body. They’re all so true. I saved it on my computer
This is a truly beautiful post, I think I’ll print those reasons and put them on my mirror.
I always say that beauty is the perfection of the unperfection. Sounds poetic.
I feel beautiful when I wake up, feeling all groggy and that I look like a haystack and not a woman, and then my boyfriend looks me in awe and says I look wonderful.
you are so beautiful Olga! Inside and out!
Thank you! <3 I hope that you know that these compliments apply to you as well, in every sense of the word
I consider things beautiful when looking at them makes me feel happy. By that definition, beauty is not a competition–lots of things are beautiful to different people. I am happy when I look at people who I love, or who dress with personality, or who carry themselves with joy and confidence–so those people are beautiful to me.
I’m really sorry to hear that American culture warped your idea of beauty, but I want to thank you for creating such a food and body positive blog. I find that some blogs stoke my anxieties about food and weight, but I always leave here feeling happy, thoughtful and perhaps just a bit hungry.
I think funny is beautiful (as in humor, not strangely shaped….which is ok too!)!
http://eatventures.wordpress.com