It’s about time we all started loving ourselves a little more, and here’s why…
LOVING ME, LOVING YOU
It took me a while to summon the confidence for this post. I’m a strong believer that we should all love ourselves for us and it’s something that I have always tried my best to live by. I’ve done pretty well on it so far. However, as I got older and my body began to change, it took a lot more effort to love me for me. I did try for many years to banish my hips, going to the gym, eating as healthy as I could and nothing would shift them. You know why? Because you can’t get rid of bone. You wouldn’t spend months trying to change the shape of your head, yet when it comes to your body? Oh yeah, that’s cool.
I spend hours of my days scrolling through social media and whilst I don’t want this to be a typical ‘social media comparison’ posts, it’s inevitable that we all do it. I was spending my days looking at girls with completely different build, shape and bodies to me yet still I wanted to be them, I wanted what they had even if it was impossible…
So recently, I was watching an Instagram live of a Insta-famous photographer. This photographer was showing his editing process of an image of a young girl that he had posted to his very popular account. He was changing the shape of everything about her. He made her forehead smaller, her nose neater, her hair smoother. He increased her bust size, decreased her hips and erased any slight blemish she had.
Now, I’ve worked in fashion photography and I know first hand that this is something of the norm, but never had I really thought about it on social media. I think in this day and age we’re all aware that fashion editorials are photoshopped, but are we really aware that this happens on social media too? I’m 28, would someone 14 years younger than me figure this out too?
How can we be inspired by bodies that don’t actually even exist?
LOVING YOUR OWN BODY
Everyone is unique and this is special in it’s own way. It’s good to be inspired, but as long as you know that your inspiration is not you. It’s similar to when you take a photo to the hairdresser – the outcome will never look exactly the same, because it’s on a different head.
Self-confidence isn’t something you can just have overnight. It takes time and effort to build it up, but you’ll get there. Challenge yourself to new things and experiences, eventually things won’t scare you as much. Wear something different for you, push the boundaries.
Take some time out. When I’m busy and stressed out, I never feel good about myself. It’s so rewarding to have one evening dedicated to you. Fake tan, paint those nails, have a bath, pop on a hair mask. You’ll feel so much better for it, and you’ll be silky smooth too!
I’m wearing
Thank you to Simply Beach for inspiring and sponsoring this post. They’re my go-to for holiday wear and I knew I’d love to work with them on a post. Originally I thought I would style a swimsuit in an everyday outfit, mostly because I didn’t want to ‘bare all’ on my blog. But, if the message today is that we need to love our bodies for what they are and embrace ourselves – how could I hide mine from you? Anyway, I hope that message came across to you all and if I can inspired just one of you out there, then that’s a good job done, right?!
GIRL. THESE PHOTOS ARE AMAZING. You look schmokin’.
Also love what you’ve written. It’s so true.
I’m a big advocate of not comparing yourself to others, but it’s so, so hard. I still do it at times. I have also seen some things recently about bloggers bodies being maniplulated in photoshop. I’ll admit to erasing a spot or two, but I’d never imagined bloggers would go to the extent of changing their body shapes. I had always loved our community for being genuine, authentic people, who are more real and tangible than an editorial in Vogue. So it saddened me a bit!