Change Starts Here

I moved the blog to change-starts-here.com, but I’ll still try to re-post content here when I can. I haven’t been able to post much lately because I just started a magazine, but I haven’t forgotten about you! Thanks for the support, Tumblr loves!

I was showing a close friend a new dress I bought and I told her I was going to wear a vest with it to cover “my fat.” She gave me a look and opened her mouth to say some words of encouragement toward my figure, but I put her worries at ease by telling her I’d spent about five minutes that morning admiring my reflection in the mirror. I wrote before about how I like to look at myself in the mirror, so it’s no secret. 

It wasn’t always that way, though.

I had to do a lot of soul searching to look in a mirror and not automatically focus on the things that I don’t like. I really like my eyes (I get a lot of weird looks when I say that because they’re a common shade of dark brown), my legs, my hands and my smile. I also have a moles on different parts of my body, including a beauty mark on my face. After a while, the things I disliked became insignificant and I barely notice them anymore.

Marie Claire published an article a few months ago about six celebrated women in health blogging who were all struggling with serious body peace issues. They would sabotage their food and try risky techniques to maintain their slim figures. If you don’t make peace with your body before you make any changes, like living a healthier lifestyle or even getting braces, you won’t be happy with it in any state. You’ll also realize it’s OK if you like your body the way it is. There’s no mold for the perfect body type or how you should look.

When I hear a girl say she hates her body or that she wishes she looked like someone else, I always wonder why. Your body is a one-of-a-kind miracle. It came into this world against insurmountable biological odds, so you should love it no matter how different it is from the ones you seen on fashion runways and advertisements.

Here’s a challenge: stand in front of a full-length mirror and with a dry erase marker and draw arrows pointing to all the things you dislike about your body. Next, erase them; kill them; take the first step to getting rid of them for good. Who need those negative thoughts, anyway? Then, do the same thing, but only use things you love about your body. Keep those things on the mirror, so when you look at your reflection, you can start seeing the good. (If you’re worried about possibly not being able to get the marker off your mirror, use a piece of paper. Tear up the paper with negative thoughts and tape the paper with positive thoughts to your mirror.)

If you’re happy and healthy, don’t worry about what others think is the perfect body. It’s your body. You’re stuck with it forever, so why not give it the love it deserves?

This post was brought on buy a project that’s very close to my heart: Seventeen’s Body Peace Project. You sign a pledge to love your body, no matter what. I actually have a copy of the pledge on my bulletin board to always remind myself to love my body. You can sign the Body Peace Treaty here. Glee’s Amber Riley did!

Follow us on Twitter!