Healthy and Happy?

My prom took place about a month ago and it was a brilliant opportunity to put on a beautiful dress, get my lovely friend to do my hair and feel pretty gorgeous. On the left is a photo of me before prom and I chose it to show you, the reader, how I look. I did this because during prom and life in general, I hear people tell me that they adore my figure and things along that line. I don't write this to boast in any way! I swear that this is relevant...(Oh and if you're wondering, I follow a specific diet of eating just about everything I want whenever I'm hungry - or not - and exercising when I feel like it).

These compliments often make me blush and smile because they usually come from my lovely friends who are being very nice and help me feel happy about my body. However, I can never get over the feeling of wanting to sit down and give them a half an hour lecture on the fact that their bodies are beautiful too and that your body doesn't have to be a certain size or shape to rock!

You can argue that these goals to be a size 6-8 and the general favouritism for bodies of that size may just be a person's preference, but I think it's childish to ignore the effect media has on our perceptions and opinions on appearance. We are constantly shown fake, edited images everywhere we go from a ridiculously young age and even if we do not feel indoctrinated by this, we have to face the reality that the majority of us are. Making the slimmer body superior to a curvier one ultimately sends a message to people that everyone should aim for a slimmer body. This results in people going against being healthy and happy and a whole lot of trouble begins. Don't do it! Tell yourself things that you would tell a good friend. If you have a healthy, curvy friend who says they have to loose weight because they can't go out in shorts in public and you rebuke them, then say the same thing to yourself. Deep down we all know that these self conscious meanies in ourselves that make us feel like crap are wrong and just stupid. So be your own friend and if you are ever in that situation then have a little talk with yourself. Other options also include calling a friend, family member, or me!

The point that I am trying to make is that while being complimented is nice, I think that it's important to appreciate all body types and fight against the messages being fed to us! All bodies are beautiful! If you have a body, your figure is awesome. That's how I want us to see people! Preference for our own body is one thing; you should aim for a body that you feel comfortable and happy in because you two are in this game together and your mental health often depends on your physical health. But the moment you feel pressured into losing or gaining weight, take a step back and think about yourself! Love yourself and your body! As well as this love all other bodies because they're all really freaking cool - I mean they get us to places, right? And technically, we wouldn't be alive without them... so why focus so much on how they look instead of how awesome they are?! Exactly, no reason at all. From now on, let's appreciate all figures, sizes and shapes and be happy with our own!