Body Insecurity
The dressing rooms are the worst part. Turning around to look at yourself in the mirror and feeling less than pleased with the result stinks.
“Why doesn’t anything look good on me?” I would ask myself.
I’ve spent many shopping days grazing through the racks of clothing and picking out dozens of items. I’d take them into the dressing room with hope; only to give up thinking nothing else is going to look good anyway.
Part of virtue is choosing good. When it comes to my body, I’ve never done well at choosing to see the good of beauty. Instead, I’ve wallowed in the insecurities.
I’m aware that I might not fit the archetype of a striking body presented by our society: I’m about 5-foot nothing with short brown hair, and I’ve got some meat on my bones. But my body type isn’t the only one who faces this struggle.
I’ve learned that I’m not alone and this battle to be at ease in our own skin is something all body types face. No matter how fit or perfect we think other women are, oftentimes other women have some tough insecurities about their bodies, too. It might not be written all over their face, but it’s a reality I’ve learned from many girls over the last year.
I don’t want to sugar coat this battle either. I find pain each and every day whether it’s when I go shopping with a friend or when I’m trying on outfits in the morning. We will find pain in this struggle, but it’s important to focus on the truth.
The reality is, that little whisper we hear some days that says: “You aren’t going to look beautiful in anything… There is no way someone is going to find the way you look attractive. Just give it up…” needs to be stopped in its tracks.
The fact is, we aren’t going to be excited each day we look in the mirror. We don’t wake up and think about how extraordinary our bodies are. But the actuality is that we are not alone. We must realize that fact and fight the battle together. We aren’t perfect and there will be days where we are obsessed with why a certain dress looks bad. But there will also be days where we feel great with how our body looks!
I might not light up a room with how the dress I am wearing looks on me, but I can still do it with who I am.
Our bodies are a part of each of us, but it is not all of us. Our bodies are a part of our dignity and worth, but so are our souls. If we become too obsessed with what that little voice is telling us, there is no way our ears will be able to hear the truth.
It’s true that no one fits into that perfect box that our culture wants to think is the sole definition of a beautiful body. Everyone has insecurities, and it’s up to each of us to choose not to wallow in that insecure feeling. Instead we can embrace what we think are flaws or shortcomings and use them as motivation to let our true beauty shine outward.
