Unrealistic Standards, BE GONE!
If you were to ask me if I’ve ever had “body issues,” I’d probably say “No.” And, bless my heart, I’d be lying like a fool. In Jr. High, I was all legs and a smile, just a skinny little freckled face girl. In High School, I hit a growth spurt. And, as happy as I was to develop a little shape, it was a bit much and took time to grow into. In college, I put on the “freshman fifteen” and heard the word “cellulite” for the first time which made me more conscious of being at a healthy weight and exercising to maintain it. In my twenties, I was single and free. Exercise was a pastime for me, so I maintained a healthy weight and shape through resistance training and marathoning. Then, my thirties hit, and something happened. Oh, yea, I got married and was more interested in spending time with my new husband than I was exercising. And, I don’t know about y’all, but bagels and cream cheese and movies and steak and potatoes and sugar of any kind aren’t a good combination when you are exercising, but they’re lethal if your only cardio is walking slowly from the couch to the refrigerator.
That said, our bodies ebb and flow as our lives do. While it’s great, it’s not so common to stay at a certain weight our entire lives. And, we shouldn’t expect that of ourselves. Just months ago, I was talking to my beloved college friend and sister, Jenaia Joefield. I said, “Nay, I’ve got a closet full of clothes I haven’t been able to fit into for the past nine years. Every single time I look at them, I feel persecuted. Persecuted for not being about to fit into those pieces of clothing I loved so much in my twenties.” She replied in a very kind but direct voice, “But, Jill, you’re not in your twenties anymore, so why are you expecting to look like you are?” The next day, I sold every item of clothing I had been holding onto, dreaming of fitting into once more. The day after that, I headed to one of my favorite stores, and bought myself some beautiful pieces of clothing that actually fit me. A confidence rose from a new space, a space of personal acceptance as I was and not as I thought I should be or the thirteen year old model on the Vogue Magazine cover subliminally dictated I should be.
Wherever we are in life and whatever size we may be, my hope and my prayer is that we embrace it, love it, appreciate it and take good care of it. It’s the only body we have, so it makes sense that we would love it well. Today, will you be you, downright fabulous at any age or size in life, you?
Stay Divine,
JL PARISH
