more then a body

these days it's rare to find a girl with awesome body image. how ever, i don't think many of us girls fully understand what body image is actually about. it's not about loving your thighs and being crazy about your stomach. having positive body image isn't actually about the appearance of your body, but instead what your body can do and how it serves you. us girls are known for making the mistake of confusing "my body" with "what my body looks like."

if we want to have positive body image (and honestly who doesn't?!) we need to get past the obsession with the outward appearance of our bodies. any girl has the ability to obtain positive body image, regardless of her weight or size.

too often we live life imagining and envisioning what we look like to those around us. how about we start looking in the mirror and saying "i'm grateful for what i have" vs looking in the mirror and analyzing how others feel about our bodies? who gave those around us the power to determine how we feel about ourselves?! we gave them that power... but guess what? we have the ability to take that power back, so lets do it!

i feel like the first step is the desire. we need to decide how we want our time and energy to be spent. do we want to spend our time and energy pursuing the "perfect body" or enjoying family, friends, school, and most importantly, life. we must accept what is instead of longing for what is not.

it isn't easy to get self love into the core of us - it takes time, effort, and practice.

"we need to tell ourselves we care about ourselves and can take care of ourselves even when we don't believe what we're saying. we need to do it, and do it, and do it. day after day, year after year."

self love isn't easy, it's hard. but we can make the commitment to never stop practicing self  care, self love, and acceptance. instead of focusing on our bodies, lets focus on making memories and laughing. lets take back the power we gave away and lets choose on our own how WE feel about our bodies and all the amazing things our bodies do for us.