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Rock Your Body…NOW

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What many people do for fun, I dread. What some people have problems avoiding, I have problems actually doing. Time for confessions of a Non-Shopaholic.
Confession #1: I hate shopping. There, I said it. I broke the 2nd commandment of being a girl (commandment #1 being “Thou must be obsessed with fro-yo.” Whoops, I broke that too).

Shopping and I have a rocky history. When I was in elementary/middle school and I started actually noticing different brands and store, clothes became a competition. Not just over what I wore, but how I looked in the clothes compared to my friends. Limited Too was the first store I remember liking and when I realized that was out-of-style, I thought the logical transition was to shop at Abercrombie. But guess what happens when you’re taller and a little rounder than your friends? You don’t fit into Abercrombie & Fitch, let alone Abercrombie Kids. In middle school (hello awkward, early puberty days) I wanted all of my clothes to have a moose logo and smell like the intoxicating perfume from the store. But even wearing the clothes wasn’t enough. My stomach stuck out, the size Large shirts were too tight and I couldn’t get my arms through certain sweaters. Clothes (and shopping) became so stressful. I wanted something that was in-style and that I looked good in.

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But guess what happens during puberty? Surprise, our bodies change. Suddenly everything fit me differently. Yet still somehow, my previous “complaints” were replaced by new issues. “My boobs are too small,” “My thighs are wide but my butt is flat,” and so on and so on. Nothing, even the most expensive outfit, was ever perfect. I hated wearing certain clothes, therefore, I hated shopping for clothes.

I’m almost 20 years old and I still have issues shopping. I have “goals” for my body, and even though they have nothing to do with losing weight (I want to gain some upper-body muscle and fat, fyi), I’m still self-conscious. But because wearing workout clothes and sweats is not appropriate for everyday, I was forced bribed to go shopping this past weekend.

As I tried on clothes, some I liked some I didn’t, I realized (duh!) that no matter my size, as long as I’m healthy, I should rock my body. The body I have NOW. Not 10 lbs (up or down) from now, not a bra size from now, not a pant size/shirt size/shoe size/underwear size/sock size from now. Now, now…right this very minute.

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Shopping shouldn’t be so stressful (unless you’re talking about prices, then feel free to stress away like I do). It should really just be another time to remind ourselves that we are awesome and we have awesome bodies. No matter the brand, style or size of clothes, wear what you love and OWN IT.

What was your favorite store growing up? Now?

Shopping lovers? Haters?

Grain of Salt

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I’ve come a long way in terms of self-confidence. Five years ago I was not nearly as confident as I am today and I struggled a lot with self-esteem. However, the height of my battle was at a time when social media was practically non-existent. I had just opened a Facebook account, didn’t know much about Twitter and Instagram didn’t exist. Not many people had smart phones so being “connected” and “plugged-in” 24/7 wasn’t common.

My journey to find peace was very difficult, but I can’t imagine how much harder it would be in today’s world…

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While the messages from mainstream media (TV, magazines, Hollywood, etc.) are obviously prevalent in society, for me, social media is much more influential. I’ve been taught that what the mainstream media portrays is mostly fabricated and Photoshopped so I typically don’t take their messages to heart. If a magazine has a toned supermodel on the cover I know well enough that there was probably some airbrushing and doctoring behind the scenes. However, it’s posts on social media that tend to bring back some of the negative thoughts I had years and years ago.

For me, it’s harder to dismiss messages from friends and people I know in real life. (I don’t know Kim Kardashian so, even though I follow her on social networks, I don’t really care what she’s doing). But when I see a friend’s Instagram from a party or a tweet about working out for 2 hours, I often feel like my life is sub-par. Ok, sub-par is an obvious exaggeration…let’s say boring. It’s not so much that I have FOMO (fear of missing out) on social events, but more like I should be doing something different with my life.

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People portray the best part of their lives on social media so it makes sense if they aren’t tweeting about that test they failed or the fight they got into with their boyfriend. It makes sense that they choose to Instagram a gourmet restaurant meal and not a picture of their typical breakfast (the breakfast I probably ate). I don’t know how long it took them to take the perfect picture or come up with a clever caption. Believe me, I’ve had to take dozens and dozens of pictures for some friends before they found one they liked enough to post.

Like mainstream media, I have to remind myself that what I see on social media is something I should take with a grain of salt. I hope that anyone who is struggling with self-confidence learns to look critically at social media and understands there is more to the story than meets the eye.

Because life isn’t always an Instagram-worthy outfit or dinner (hello, filters!)…and guess what, that is perfectly okay.