IF I COULD CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOU SEE YOURSELF
Have you ever found yourself scrolling through Instagram and thinking, "I wish I looked like that." How many times have you compared yourself to countless models, makeup artists, and celebrities? While social media has changed the world dramatically, it's also changed the way we perceive ourselves. It's easy to look at a well curated Instagram account and criticize yourself. I don't know about you, but for me, this is true. This is why I try to be honest about who I am as a person when it comes to my blogging. Am I lazy? Yes. Do I hate combing my hair? Absolutely. Do I take a million selfies before I find the perfect one? ALL THE TIME. Do I have it all together? Absolutely NOT. So don't for a second think anyone's life is perfect.
Growing up, I was as skinny as can be! A whopping 85 pounds my entire life, and it wasn't until I turned 24 that I started to actually gain weight. It's true what they say, it doesn't matter what size you are, everyone has their own insecurities. When I was super skinny I prayed that I would somehow gain some weight and not look like a pre-teen boy. Now that I'm 28 years old, I WISH I had my body from four years ago. What I wanted back then, I have now, and now that I have it, I wish I could go back. Isn't that the irony of life? I used to obsess over the weight I gained after marriage, but as many would say, it was the "happy" weight. It was just hard accepting this as my new reality. You also can't imagine how many people would comment on the change and say "you look good," I would question if they wholeheartedly thought I looked good, or were they acknowledging that I look "different." Whatever they meant, I thought about it incessantly. I would check my weight every other day, I signed up for three different memberships (all of which I eventually stopped going to all together), I tried to eat different and count my calories. It was all too time consuming and I finally came to terms with being comfortable in the skin I was in. I said to myself, "I look absolutely fine, there is nothing wrong with me."
While it took some time to get to this point of being "unbothered," I will admit, what made it difficult was scrolling through Instagram. Instagram truly has a way of making you feel like you're not good enough. Yeah, you could be pretty, but are you as pretty as the next girl? Everyone on my explore page seemed to have flawless skin, a symmetrical face and the perfect coke bottle body. But if you think about it, how realistic is it all? When will we understand, what we see on Instagram is what someone wants us to see? Recently, I've realized while all these models and Influencers are beautiful, some of them also all look the same. The same perfectly crafted body, the same plump lips, the same flawless skin, and it made me truly appreciate my body and how I looked. I don't want to feel like I need to live up to a body standard and idolize something that might not even be real itself. I'm truly okay looking "different" as opposed to what we're being fed to believe is the new "beauty standard."
I posted a quote today that said "pretty girls with natural bodies and regular jobs are still winning, don't let social media fool ya" and I truly hope everyone out there absorbs that thought. Don't let social media fool you. Don't think you have to look a certain way to be perceived as beautiful, because you are beautiful as you are. And if you do want to change something about yourself, make sure your're doing that for yourself, not because you think you have to live up to a certain standard. There is absolutely no reason to change a thing about yourself to make others think you're worthy. There is only one you in this world, why spend it trying to look and be like everyone else? If you think of it, there are more people that are starting to look the same nowadays, wouldn't you rather relish in the fact that you're beautifully different? Don't ever overthink about how you're living life because you're busy comparing yourself to others on social media. You are doing great, sweetie. Try to remember that the next time you're scrolling through Instagram.
Hope you all have an amazing day!
With Love,
From Bindi
Outfit Details:
Duster: SHEIN
Jeans: Fashion Nova
Earrings: Amazon
Shoes: De Janeiro