Blog 3: The Importance of Body Neutrality

I squandered my adolescent years trying to restrain myself into smallness, it was all I had known. My body felt out of place, I kept shrinking under the harsh light of a gaze that did not belong to me. I watched as my body was picked at and reduced to whatever beauty standards were trending this week. I kept asking myself, why? Why didn't I understand that my body was never to blame? I punished my body when I should have fought for it. We should have been on the same side. We should have always been on the same side. I’m not saying that you have to love your body because I know that is a very difficult thing to do, but I truly believe that accepting and respecting your body is the key. Your body is not a marker of your success or your failures. You are more than your body. Your body works so hard to keep you alive, you deserve to love it (and if not that, then at least accept it). I think we all need to focus on what our bodies do for us - your heart is beating, your lungs keep you breathing. If you start to acknowledge all that your body does to keep you alive and healthy, you’ll learn to appreciate the way it looks, because THIS body, the body you’re in right now keeps you going. It’s the reason your brain functions, it gets you where you need to go. Your body is a beautiful thing and you deserve to love the core of your being.