28 March 2012
19 March 2012
This One's For the Girls
I've procrastinated with this post for far too long, but enough is enough, people. Bear with me while I weed through years of brain cobwebs to get to my point.
For the past few weeks, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of conversations I've had with my girlfriends about their body image and the general dislike that they/we feel about our bodies and our appearances. Btw, things could get very Eat, Pray, Love here, so I ask that you again, bear with me. For example: Before going out to the bars one night, about 4 other girls and I were standing in the bathroom finishing getting ready. Hair pins were flying, makeup was being slapped on and drinks were being spilled. At some point, the conversation turned to talking about things we didn't like about ourselves. Before I knew it, I had joined in on a chorus of self-deprecation
"My arms are too big"
"My ass is too flat"
"My hair is so shitty"
"I can't do makeup, I look like an idiot"
"I feel huge"
"I weighed myself yesterday and cried"
"You have perfect boobs, I'm so jealous"
Getting ready for a night on the town is somewhat of a ritual for girls. We take this time very seriously and it is prime for bonding. Similarly, it seems as though we look for friendship, loyalty, and reassurance in other girls by disclosing what we hate about ourselves.
After my tear-filled night crying about how imperfect I am (referenced here) I woke up ready to make a change, but I was also so frustrated that I couldn't come to the root of the issue. Was it just the media that makes my peers and I feel inadequate? Or are we to blame? Have we created a society that reflects how we feel about ourselves? No matter how many Dove Real Beauty ads I see, when given the option, I would still choose the skinnier model over the "real-sized" women. No matter how many times my friends reassure me about my face, my body, or my hair, I can still pin-point every little inch of myself that I want to change. We all can. How many times have we looked to our peers, our mothers, boyfriends, teachers, or sisters for validation? Why does it seem impossible for us to be able to look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we are enough?
I'm still trying to figure this all out, but the best I can do right now is try and make the change for myself personally, but also hold my friends accountable for the way we talk about ourselves and each other. No more pity parties.
I've thrown together a little body image/self-validation playlist - total chick music, sorry to any guys who are reading...
When you're feeling like crap and want to feel sad about it listen to this:
When you're feeling like crap and want to feel as fabulous as a drag queen on Open Mic Night, listen to this and rally UP:
When you feel like your butt is too big:
To work on your self-validation, follow in Alanis' footsteps (you may want to grab a floor pillow for this one):
Now go and write 5 things you love about yourself and your body. DO IT.
Thanks for reading!
For the past few weeks, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of conversations I've had with my girlfriends about their body image and the general dislike that they/we feel about our bodies and our appearances. Btw, things could get very Eat, Pray, Love here, so I ask that you again, bear with me. For example: Before going out to the bars one night, about 4 other girls and I were standing in the bathroom finishing getting ready. Hair pins were flying, makeup was being slapped on and drinks were being spilled. At some point, the conversation turned to talking about things we didn't like about ourselves. Before I knew it, I had joined in on a chorus of self-deprecation
"My arms are too big"
"My ass is too flat"
"My hair is so shitty"
"I can't do makeup, I look like an idiot"
"I feel huge"
"I weighed myself yesterday and cried"
"You have perfect boobs, I'm so jealous"
Getting ready for a night on the town is somewhat of a ritual for girls. We take this time very seriously and it is prime for bonding. Similarly, it seems as though we look for friendship, loyalty, and reassurance in other girls by disclosing what we hate about ourselves.
After my tear-filled night crying about how imperfect I am (referenced here) I woke up ready to make a change, but I was also so frustrated that I couldn't come to the root of the issue. Was it just the media that makes my peers and I feel inadequate? Or are we to blame? Have we created a society that reflects how we feel about ourselves? No matter how many Dove Real Beauty ads I see, when given the option, I would still choose the skinnier model over the "real-sized" women. No matter how many times my friends reassure me about my face, my body, or my hair, I can still pin-point every little inch of myself that I want to change. We all can. How many times have we looked to our peers, our mothers, boyfriends, teachers, or sisters for validation? Why does it seem impossible for us to be able to look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we are enough?
I'm still trying to figure this all out, but the best I can do right now is try and make the change for myself personally, but also hold my friends accountable for the way we talk about ourselves and each other. No more pity parties.
I've thrown together a little body image/self-validation playlist - total chick music, sorry to any guys who are reading...
When you're feeling like crap and want to feel sad about it listen to this:
When you're feeling like crap and want to feel as fabulous as a drag queen on Open Mic Night, listen to this and rally UP:
When you feel like your butt is too big:
To work on your self-validation, follow in Alanis' footsteps (you may want to grab a floor pillow for this one):
Now go and write 5 things you love about yourself and your body. DO IT.
Thanks for reading!
07 March 2012
05 March 2012
Salutations, Sun
This morning I woke up two hours early so that I could do homework for my classes today. One time, I got reprimanded by a professor who told me I was doing an injustice to myself by doing this. That it was "the education system" that made me think waking up early to do an assignment the day that it's due is a good idea. Respectively, sir, it's actually just my crippling procrastination and complete and utter lack of motivation to do bull shit assignments which makes me think that it's a good idea.
The point is, this procrastination followed me over seas and this morning was no exception. Why then, you ask, am I writing a blog post and not doing the aforementioned homework? Well it turns out those assignments are actually due tomorrow, not today. So I woke up two hours early for nothing. It's too late to go to bed now, so instead, I'm going to share some morning reflections on the weekend that has just passed:
1) The Vow is a great movie. New favorite chick flick. Rachel McAdams is a goddess. And Channing Tatum is okay too.
2) You may think that Skyping with your sisters on a Sunday afternoon might be a drag because you are, perhaps, in the middle of an episode of Downton Abby; but when they pay for a month of Skype Premium just so that you all can conference chat, it'll be well worth your time.
3) Tequila is never (always) a good idea.
4) Giving up Chocolate for Lent was a terrible plan. Pain au Chocolate, Nutella, ice cream, candy....ITS TORTURE.
5) When you begin to have an identity crisis because you are abroad with new friends and foreign boys who don't seem to get the concept of "leave me alone" and you still don't know how to cook and every girl who passes you seems skinnier, prettier, nicer and all around cooler than you are: put down the tequila, don't buy that champagne, and what ever you do, DO NOT let your well-meaning friends give you their "extra" shots of god-knows-what. Because at the end of the night, you WILL be that girl walking home and crying.
6) Boys give great advice. They really don't get enough credit for this. Sometimes they are absolutely dead-on about something and you should always listen to them in these moments of wisdom/gold. This is especially true if they are talking about their own sex. Because guys know guys. Sry ladiez, but it's true.
7) Mothers also give great advice. They also (might) send you Easter candy in the mail. Listen to them.
8) Justin Bieber is now a legal adult. Did I just Google "Hottest Justin Bieber pics"? Absolutely. Was this one of the first images that appeared?
The point is, this procrastination followed me over seas and this morning was no exception. Why then, you ask, am I writing a blog post and not doing the aforementioned homework? Well it turns out those assignments are actually due tomorrow, not today. So I woke up two hours early for nothing. It's too late to go to bed now, so instead, I'm going to share some morning reflections on the weekend that has just passed:
1) The Vow is a great movie. New favorite chick flick. Rachel McAdams is a goddess. And Channing Tatum is okay too.
2) You may think that Skyping with your sisters on a Sunday afternoon might be a drag because you are, perhaps, in the middle of an episode of Downton Abby; but when they pay for a month of Skype Premium just so that you all can conference chat, it'll be well worth your time.
3) Tequila is never (always) a good idea.
4) Giving up Chocolate for Lent was a terrible plan. Pain au Chocolate, Nutella, ice cream, candy....ITS TORTURE.
5) When you begin to have an identity crisis because you are abroad with new friends and foreign boys who don't seem to get the concept of "leave me alone" and you still don't know how to cook and every girl who passes you seems skinnier, prettier, nicer and all around cooler than you are: put down the tequila, don't buy that champagne, and what ever you do, DO NOT let your well-meaning friends give you their "extra" shots of god-knows-what. Because at the end of the night, you WILL be that girl walking home and crying.
6) Boys give great advice. They really don't get enough credit for this. Sometimes they are absolutely dead-on about something and you should always listen to them in these moments of wisdom/gold. This is especially true if they are talking about their own sex. Because guys know guys. Sry ladiez, but it's true.
7) Mothers also give great advice. They also (might) send you Easter candy in the mail. Listen to them.
8) Justin Bieber is now a legal adult. Did I just Google "Hottest Justin Bieber pics"? Absolutely. Was this one of the first images that appeared?
You bet.
Happy Monday, Gang.
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