Well, hello, visitors from The Nearsighted Owl!
I'm imagining that this is the first of many outfit-posts with Rachele's theme "I'M PROUD OF MY SIZE" attached to it. I adore the idea of loving who you are inside and out...because it took me some time to get here.
Confidence was an issue growing up. I was that too-tall girl in middle school with the unibrow who didn't 'grow into her nose' yet. I always had friends, was never really teased (to my knowledge), but I never felt pretty.
I think with maturity came the realization that I spent way too much brain power stressing about my nose, my hair, and wanting to be petite. Yeah. I had this weird fixation on wanting to appear dainty. Haa haa...I was sooo playing myself and setting myself up for disappointment since I've been a whopping 5'8" since 8th grade, and was always a taller, stronger-framed person than my friends, the boys in my class, and even some of my teachers. :P
To this day, I still have moments (<--keyword here is 'moments'...not hour-long tear sessions) where I feel like the Jolly Green Giant in flats amongst my petite 4-inch-heels-wearing girlfriends... where my wide, athletic shoulders will cross my mind for a second...where I'll catch my nose from the side in a three-way mirror...where I'll just NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY FRIZZY MANE!
But here's what:
I'll feel too tall, but then think this height has allowed me to play Volleyball well for most of my life...and help that lady at the supermarket reach the canned peas on the top self.
I am just the right tall.
I'll feel my shoulders are too broad, but then remember they have allowed me to swing a softball bat and score homeruns...they have allowed me to lift a 5 year old boy I was counsellor of at Summer camp and run him to the nurse when he was burning up with fever.
They are just the right width.
I'll feel my nose is too big, but then think that it is a perfect mix of my two grandmas on my face. It is a representation of the places in Italy and all over the world my family has been for generations back.
It tells my story and is just the right big.
...and my hair. I'll feel I can do nothing with it. But then I think, do what you can. It's JUST HAIR. Somedays my hair works in a style, and some days it doesn't. I am not my hair. ...and pony-braids are a great go-to. Like an adult, I move on. I've learned not to fixate.
I've learned my hair is just the right texture, and I work with it.
Beauty is in what you do and how you treat others.
I am happy with myself, and happiness is a beautiful thing, and therefore I am beautiful.
I am kind to people, and kindness is a beautiful thing, and therefore I am beautiful x2.
I am creative, and creativity is a beautiful thing, and therefore I am beautiful x3.
It's logic, not opinion.
I think that's the message behind I'M PROUD OF MY SIZE. For me, the message extends to I'M PROUD TO BE ME. ...and I deserve to be, for all those wasted years when I wasn't.
Now that I've kicked negativity and self-loathing out of my mind, I HAVE SO MUCH FREED UP SPACE! Above and below are some things that now occupy that space.
I love getting crafty with photography!! My polaroid cam for 'Roid Week and my disposable cam for #Photoswap are two of the best accessories.
My two cute kitty boops are a main focus in my life. They're like my kids. Coming up with songs to sing to them, and mushing on them, and walking them...these are some of the things that put this smile on my face:
Have a happy week, all, filled with recognizing how fierce you are!
Thanks, Rachele, for igniting this link up.
I'm looking forward to submitting for the next one.
xOxO,
Quick outfit details: dress: F21 / shoes: American Eagle Outfitters
