Guys, I've been sooooo excited for this post from the moment that aerie contacted me and I got a package full of these lovely goodies in the mail! First, because I'm such a HUGE fan of the Aerie Real Campaign. Second, because they're seriously the ONLY store I buy undies from so I had a minor freak out when I saw they had emailed me, heehee! I remember the first time I noticed one of their "re-touch" free photos. I had a complete double take moment from the sheer shock of it! I ran home and told my sister, "Guess what?! I was just in the aerie store and one of the pictures in the store was of a girl who had a couple of stretch marks on her butt!!! Isn't that the coolest thing ever?!" In the spirit of butt stretch marks being awesome and all lets get on to what this post is really about, self love. Such a tricky topic. I've already talked about my own personal journey with weight
here
and I could do that again today because it played such a huge role in
my own journey to self love but let's be real, as heart felt as that
topic is to me, it's an exhausted one. Not because it isn't important,
but because if we're being honest nothing is more frustrating/annoying
than a skinny girl hopping up on a soapbox to say, "Hey, I was sort of
chubby once, I hated it, it was hard, but guess what? I'm skinny
againnnn! Hooray!" Not. If we're being honest that's just straight up annoying and kind of
unproductive. It sends out the message that, "Hey, I was unhappy being a
little heavier but now that I'm not heavy anymore I can be happy again
because my level of happiness is only dictated by how small the number
on the scale is." Again I say, NOT. Was I at one point that type of
girl? Sure. Name a girl who hasn't been and that is a girl who's
straight up got her shiz together and we should learn her secrets.
Everyone has got their insecurities and 90% of the female population has
felt insecure about their weight. (That's not an actual factual figure
so don't quote me.) Whether it's because they get shamed for being too
thin or they get shamed for being too large. There seems to be no medium
here, we're all getting shamed for the shape of our bodies and the only
ones who seem to be passing the "test" of what's acceptable are the
PhotoShopped models. What's up with that? Taking it further, though,
there's this obsessive pressure put on us as females to reach the
idyllic "size zero". Do you know what the value of zero is? NOTHING. The
number zero has no value. How sad is it that we're essentially pushing
ourselves to reach "no value"?
Even now that I believe that I've come
leaps and bounds in loving the REAL me I'll still occasionally find
myself thinking, "Why can't I be a size zero that actually looks like a size zero. Why do I have to be a size zero that has a big butt and wide hips?" Uhhhhh, and even that statement right there shows that even I still have work to do if I felt it necessary to underhandedly flout my size.When it comes to size, WHO CARES?! Are you physically healthy? Then guess what? You've passed the metaphorical "test"! The only one who can give you permission to love yourself is you! Self love is a choice.
Choose to be happy with who you are, regardless of how big or small you are! I promise you, nothing shines brighter than self love and happiness! The most radiant girls on this planet are the ones that are happy and have a deep sense of self worth! Remember that the root of
ALL love starts with
SELF love!
tshirt: c/o
aerie
kangaroo print boxers: c/o
aerie
socks:
aerie
phone case: c/o aerie
#aeriereal undies: c/o aerie
shrug: c/o
OASAP
photos:
Shailynn
I'm happy
because I'm
alive, I have
amazing people in my life whom I
love,
I have a safe home, and countless blessings! A scale doesn't rule my
happiness or level of self love because I choose to not
LET it! I'm
happy and I LOVE the
REAL me! And in that spirit, what are some of
YOUR traits that make up the
REAL you that you've learned to, or always have, loved?! Here are some of mine!
- My big ol' butt and birthing hips. That thing is planetary but ya know what? I like it. I have my own planet. ;)
- My wide toothy smile, that when it comes from the heart, causes my nose to scrunch up. I used to hate it but what the heck did my parents pay for braces for if I was going to hate on my big teeth?
- My freckles. They're hard to notice in photos, but they're there. When I was a kid I was insecure as heck about them until my little sister told me they were my "sprinkling of brown sugar".
- The fact that my under-eye "sleep baggies" don't go away until at least
noon. Annoying? Sure. Do they make me unlovable? Heck to the no!
- Dimples, dimples, dimples. I've always loved my dimples even, though,
when I'm old they're just going to be two MASSIVE wrinkles. I'm looking
forward to it! ;)
I can't wait to hear the traits you love about yourselves! After all, it's those little quirks that make us unique that are truly beautiful!
Much love!
*A big thank you to Aerie for starting a campaign that's all about loving the REAL you, stretch marks, muffin tops, and all and for showing us a wide variety of equally beautiful models as they really are!*
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