Welcome to day one:
"The Identity Games" starts now...
There are these ridiculous standards that us ladies are "supposed" to live by. Here are some examples:
Be skinny
Be a size negative zero
Have the most put together house
Have the dream relationship
Have perfectly well behaved kids
Be talented
Never let your weakness show
Never break out
Where these absurd ideas of what's normal, came from, I don't know.
I just know that one size does NOT fit all.
Weight, relationships, looks, and lifestyle are relative to your unique self, story, personality, and experiences. Those are what make you, you. Nothing else
Jenny and I are going to be touching on a lot of those issues this next week. We want to be truthful with you, about where we're at and hopefully start some good conversation.
The bottom line in all is that YOU matter incredibly. A well-rounded perspective on all things "self" starts with loving who you've been created to be on the most basic level. You are loved simply because you were created. Not how you look, or by how much you weigh. We women need to encourage one another, not criticize.
Now I recognize that living out that idea is so much easier said than done, and I really do believe it's a lifelong journey, but it's an important journey to be on- and for the record, I'm in the midst of this now.
Having a healthy relationship with yourself gives you freedom and the resolve to say, "Forget what the outside is saying, I know who I am and what I'm capable of," and to push the unhealthy influences we are constantly bombarded with, to the side. Jenny is a fabulous example of beautiful woman, who can do just that.
When you know what a healthy weight and size is for YOUR body, comparing yourself to others seems silly.
When you know what you're good at, you don't need compete with someone else to be better at something.
When you are 27, 30, 33, etc, and still breakout every once and awhile, you can laugh it off.
I'm learning how to take care of myself, and learning to embrace my quirks.
I just want to take my make-up off and be honest.
Here are some pictures to illustrate my point.
From waking up, to no make up, to day and evening make up- you'll get the idea.
Be sure to check out Jenny's pictures too!
"The Identity Games" starts now...
There are these ridiculous standards that us ladies are "supposed" to live by. Here are some examples:
Be skinny
Be a size negative zero
Have the most put together house
Have the dream relationship
Have perfectly well behaved kids
Be talented
Never let your weakness show
Never break out
Where these absurd ideas of what's normal, came from, I don't know.
I just know that one size does NOT fit all.
Weight, relationships, looks, and lifestyle are relative to your unique self, story, personality, and experiences. Those are what make you, you. Nothing else
Jenny and I are going to be touching on a lot of those issues this next week. We want to be truthful with you, about where we're at and hopefully start some good conversation.
The bottom line in all is that YOU matter incredibly. A well-rounded perspective on all things "self" starts with loving who you've been created to be on the most basic level. You are loved simply because you were created. Not how you look, or by how much you weigh. We women need to encourage one another, not criticize.
Now I recognize that living out that idea is so much easier said than done, and I really do believe it's a lifelong journey, but it's an important journey to be on- and for the record, I'm in the midst of this now.
Having a healthy relationship with yourself gives you freedom and the resolve to say, "Forget what the outside is saying, I know who I am and what I'm capable of," and to push the unhealthy influences we are constantly bombarded with, to the side. Jenny is a fabulous example of beautiful woman, who can do just that.
When you know what a healthy weight and size is for YOUR body, comparing yourself to others seems silly.
When you know what you're good at, you don't need compete with someone else to be better at something.
When you are 27, 30, 33, etc, and still breakout every once and awhile, you can laugh it off.
I'm learning how to take care of myself, and learning to embrace my quirks.
I just want to take my make-up off and be honest.
Here are some pictures to illustrate my point.
From waking up, to no make up, to day and evening make up- you'll get the idea.
Be sure to check out Jenny's pictures too!
The "Good morning" me
Don't be fooled by any pictures you see on facebook or on this blog
I am not sexy when I wake up.
My hair is crazy
I have bad breath
My face often looks puffy
I have pillow mark creases on my arms and face
My shirt and pants are twisted in ever direction
As unglamorous as the just woken up, and no make-up me is,
That is the real me.
That's who my husband and kids wake up to, and see the most.
That's myself in my most basic form.
That's who I want to keep coming back to, and be working on.
It's fun to put on make-up, it's great to put yourself together when you want to, but just remember
that no amount of make-up makes you, you, nor does is erase the fact that you started the day with crazy hair, bad breath, and pillow marks all over your face- THAT is the you that matters, and is most important. It's THAT you, you need to have a healthy relationship with.
Jenny has some awesome thoughts to share today, too. Head over there and see where she's coming from. Link up over there, too, if you want to show us your "Good Morning" selves :)
Until tomorrow!
~Jessica
Thank you for sharing! I love that you and Jenny are doing this. It really is something we all, as women, need to remember. We need to embrace who we are and stop distracting ourselves from the wonderful things in our lives by focusing on what we don't like about our appearance. I know I really need to remind myself of how blessed I am to have two healthy kids each time I start hating my stretch marks or how different I think my body looks now that I've put it through two pregnancies! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's post!
ReplyDeleteHey Trischa! You are speaking my language with the post-baby body. I am trying to learn to love where I'm at with it, but it's really tough. No matter how much I tell myself that I should be happy that I got two kids out of this bod, it still doesn't change the fact that I'd love to look how I did in high school. I guess we all need lots of support and encouragement, haha. Thanks for being a faithful reader, but more than that, a wonderful source of inspiration to keep going. You are fabulous!!
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