Love Your Elbows

Yesterday, October 19th, was Love Your Body Day, sponsored by the NOW (National Organization for Women) Foundation. What a novel concept – love your body. Love your skin, hair, eyes, fingers, shoulders, nose, toes, stomach, ears, knees, and even your elbows. (Yeah, you heard me. No matter how knobby they are, love those elbows!)

Until recently – until I came to college – I did not love my body. I liked it maybe fifty percent of the time, when there were no bags under my eyes and my hair cooperated and I wasn’t feeling fat. I loved my body on the very rare occasion that I dressed up to go out and actually thought I looked good (i.e. almost never). But now, I wake up every morning and smile when I look in the mirror. I am grateful for my ability to run from student center to dorm so I can catch my favorite TV show. I delight in taking the stairs to my fifth-floor room because it makes me feel strong. I am proud of my body, not just because of what it looks like but because of what it (and I) can do.

So how did such a transformation occur? When I came to college this August, I decided that it was my chance to recreate my life the way I wanted to be. It was my opportunity to be the best woman I can be. I started exercising regularly, which was difficult (because I’d never really stuck to an exercise regime before, even just taking a daily walk), but even after the first week, I started to feel better. I was more awake, stronger, and generally in a better mood. I felt healthy, which gave me pride in myself.

More importantly, though, I took a new look at everything that I can do, much of which I had taken for granted before. I can hula-hoop and hug friends and sing (albeit often badly) and walk and run and jump for joy. I can rejoice in life.

Loving your body should be natural. It should be something that happens without question, that grows as you grow from child to woman. But in today’s society, it is not so easy. We are constantly being told by advertisements and articles in beauty magazines and television shows and commercials that we aren’t good enough. They never say it outright, but every time you read an article called “10 Tricks for a Toned Tummy” or “Makeup to Cover Up (Your Flaws),” you’re reinforcing the idea that you aren’t quite pretty enough, aren’t skinny enough, aren’t good enough. But if only you ate a little less or put on the right shade of eye shadow or did 100,000 crunches every morning before breakfast, maybe you’d be beautiful.

Stop. Don’t listen to them. You are beautiful, right here and now. I’m not saying you can’t wear makeup because sometimes it’s fun to dress up. I’m not saying you can’t start exercising and eating better because you should try to be healthy – but don’t let weight loss be your focus. (This was one of the hardest things for me to realize.) But look at yourself and think of all you can do. And love yourself for that.

If you are a mother or a grandmother or an aunt (or a father, grandfather, or uncle) – that is, if you are involved in the life of a young girl – please don’t ever make her feel like she’s not pretty enough. Don’t tell her she has to wear makeup or put on certain clothes or weigh a certain amount to be beautiful. Remind her that she is beautiful just as she is.

Because we all are.

Peace and love,

Stargrl

 

NB: This post is part of the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival.