Saturday afternoon I had an amazing and long overdue convo with one of my bffs. We talked about our plans for summer, what clothes we are eying at the moment, and everything else in between. Our convo drifted into body positivity and how important it is to get to a place of self love. She recently found a picture of me from summer some years ago. I remember the day well. I wore a dress I had scored at the thrift store and my new Kork Ease wedges. We were laughing because I was in a dress without tights and how ridiculous it was that I never used to show my legs.

 For years I kept my legs hidden. YEARS. But something clicked awhile back when I asked myself why. Really, why? That's so lame, they're just legs. I love walking in whatever city I happen to be living in, I love to dance into the early morning, I love to travel and explore; all things that I am so lucky to be able to do with the help of these legs of mine. But I was ashamed of them. I hid them away. I made fun of them like so many of us girls do to avoid the risk of someone else doing it before me. I was so mean to myself about my legs. I have my mothers legs. She was almost 6 feet tall and a dancer for life, she was never chubby. I hated being 5'6. If only I had gotten a few more inches from her I wouldn't have this squished down version of her legs. All I wanted were long dancer legs. But like I said, that all changed a few years ago, I got over it. I decided that I refused to feel bad about myself because my legs weren't what society had been trying to convince me they should be. These are my legs and they have taken me on wild adventures and places I never could have imagined!

 The journey of self acceptance I imagine will be a lifelong one as we get older and things begin to change, but it gets so much easier when you realize you are the only one who has to accept you.  We are not defined by our bodies and over and over we are told that our bodies equal our worth. What would happen if earlier in life we knew that wasn't true. That just being you and loving yourself not matter what, was enough. If we knew the problem wasn't our bodies, but what we had been told to think about our bodies. Think of how much shame and how many tears could be avoided.
This post is a reminder to myself and to anyone else that style, confidence and happiness are in NO WAY size related, and those legs of yours are just fine!
During our conversation I read her this quote I recently found I decided to post it here too. Its a really good one!

"This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world." - Oprah Winfrey




This is the pic she sent me, I was so nervous that day showing my legs!