Body and self acceptance seems impossible, I know. But, to even attempt living a happy life, you have to try accepting yourself and who you are.

Everyone has their own flaws! You may not be able to see the flaws on someone else the way they do. That’s how life goes. You don’t know what’s going on in someone’s day to day life, let alone the little things they nitpick about themselves that they “hate” or might want to change.

I, for one, can be an example… I don’t know what you guys think I do all the time. I can tell you for a fact I don’t go around eating healthy and working out ALL the time feeling super happy and confident. As much as I’d like to say that’s what I do, that wouldn’t be the truth. I want to be completely honest with you guys on my blog. So, of course, being a woman and all, I feel  squishy in places that make me feel hopeless/pissed off/want to cry/not eat for a month (I never do that but you understand)/go eat a cupcake… ya know what I mean? I feel wide in some places and too small in others. Some days I feel better without makeup than others. I have bad hair days. I feel super bloated. I look too muscular. The list goes on… and as much as I’ve tried to accept and love myself and take care of my mind, heart, soul and body, I still have my little breakdowns because of something I want to change about myself. It’s all just overwhelming sometimes.

We all strive for “perfection” when really it doesn’t exist! Think about it, the image of perfection has changed so much over the past few years and it will just continue to change! So, why try to look like something/someone you’re not when soon enough their body image might not be what’s hot and “perfect” anymore? That’s just an ongoing cycle of disappointment with yourself. As long as you get to a happy healthy state of being in your life, you’re doing just fine… really, because being happy and healthy has never been out of style.

I don’t think I’m the only one who believes that the modeling industry has caused a lot of “body hate” for teenage girls or even women. Not that there’s anything wrong with being skinny/tall or even both! I believe everyone’s beautiful in their own natural healthy weight and height and that they should be proud of how they’re made! But, for those of us that aren’t 6’1″  105lbs, we might feel as though we aren’t worthy enough to be a pretty girl known as a “model” or even be appealing to men.

In that case, a lot of girls/women have gone through extreme things to achieve what they think is “perfect” and appealing to others. Such as dying their hair, putting more makeup on than needed, trying to change the color of their skin, trying not to have the accent they’ve been blessed with. Then, there’s the more serious versions like starving themselves, Bulimia, surgeries and other terrible things that hurt you more than they help you!

Since I was about 13, I’ve wanted to model. I know how cliché that sounds coming from a girl… I mean what girl wouldn’t want to model, right? It’s not like I think I’m hot stuff and I need to model because I’m just so perfect… absolutely not. It’s because I truly love taking pictures and creating different feels through every shoot. Of course, I’ve been blessed with an amazing photographer for a Mom, but still. I love everything about it! From getting ready, picking the location, to choosing an outfit. It’s just something I’m very passionate about and have been for a while. But, I’ve always heard that you have to be tall and skinny to be a model. So, I’ve always had that in the back of my head. That little voice that tells you what you “can’t do” because you’re not good enough and people will judge you etc. (little tip; never listen to it).

Things have started to changed in the modeling industry some. Like, plus size models have become hot stuff and Aerie has been accepting all shapes, which is great because we’re embracing some curves baby!!! You don’t have to feel bad for eating that burger now!! Woot woot!! But, most of these girls are still tall! What about us girls that aren’t long and lanky? Or that have no curves? Or that might be muscular? Or might be extra curvy, and are SHORT? It seems to me that we’ve been accepting of all shapes and sizes as long as you’re over a certain height. But, if you’re 5″8 or under, you better look like you haven’t touched food for a year so that you do look long a lanky in pictures. That in my head makes accepting myself and my flaws one of the hardest things… that in order for me to do what I truly want to do, I would have to do extreme things to change my appearance, my body, and eventually my happiness, just to make someone else happy with how I look…

I’ve believed for a long time that it shouldn’t matter what shape, size, age, or race you are. If you truly have the talent and desire to model, you should do it. If you truly have the talent and desire to do anything (not just model), you should do it! It just so happens that modeling is what I want to do in my life. I’m still in the process of accepting my own flaws and body, and I know it won’t always be easy. I know that I’ll never change who I am just to make someone else happy, though.

All that really matters is if you’re proud of who you are… and who you’re becoming, more so everyday.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading!

Lil