BODY POSITIVITY

I am one person that talks a lot about 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲. “𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒” and all of that. But what I've not shared with you guys is that it was not always like that. 

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Once upon a time, I used to struggle with my body image. I constantly compared myself to others and felt insecure about my size, wishing I was thicker and more curvaceous. I also felt self-conscious about looking smaller than my peers, feeling like I didn’t fit in or belong. Seeing ladies I was way older than “look” more mature than I do use to prick my heart.

I would spend hours scrolling through social media, seeing images of seemingly perfect bodies and feeling envious of those who appeared more confident and attractive. I tried different diets and exercise routines in an attempt to change my appearance, but nothing seemed to make me feel better about myself.

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But one day, i had a realization. I realized that 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏. I began to focus on self-love and acceptance, embracing my uniqueness and appreciating the things that made me special. And one of them is, I don't age! Lol. Some people even call me a vampire. I've looked the same for more than years. Isn’t that amazing? Lol. 

I started to surround myself with positive influences and stopped comparing myself to others.

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𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦, 𝐈 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭. 𝐈 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧. It’s important to love and accept ourselves for who we are, flaws and all. We should focus on our strengths and unique qualities, rather than trying to conform to societal ideals of beauty. Like…who created all these beauty standards in the first place? 

By practicing self-love and acceptance, we can cultivate a positive body image and live a happier, more fulfilling life. Love your body no matter the size or color. Focus more on beautifying your heart (your inside). That's the beauty that never expires. Every other one will. 

#faithpeters #girlchildadvocate #thebalancedlady #thebalancedladiesnetwork