I always told myself if I lost weight I'd like myself, people would want to befriend me, and life would be easier. At one point I wasn't eating, but that didn't solve anything...at all, and made me feel even worse.
It wasn't until I moved away from this little world called Marlow that I realized there are very pretty women who aren't sticks. My friends aren't around anymore, but they're still my friends. I realized that the people who care about me care about ME, not how I look because they know who I am on the inside.
God has been showing me a lot and my confidence has been boosted a whole lot since the beginning of summer. It was crazy because on days that I really started feeling down I'd get texts, messages, or comments from friends and family telling me how much I've influenced them. I began to care less about working on how I look like on the outside to others and more on how I appear to God on the inside.
Body Peace is a campaign by Seventeen magazine trying to get girls to love the skin they're in and be the perspn they're meant to be. I signed the treaty a few days ago and painted this to hang in my room as a reminder.
The pledge consists of this:
I vow to...
Remember that the sun will still rise tomorrow even if I had one too many slices of pizza or an extra scoop of ice cream tonight.
Never blame my body for the bad day I'm having.
Stop joining in when my friends compare and trash their own bodies.
Never allow a dirty look from someone else to influence how I feel about my appearance.
Quit judging a person solely by how his or her body looks — even if it seems harmless — because I'd never want anyone to do that to me.
Notice all the amazing things my body is doing for me every moment I walk, talk, think, breathe...
Quiet that negative little voice in my head when it starts to say mean things about my body that I'd never tolerate anyone else saying about me.
Remind myself that what you see isn't always what you get on TV and in ads — it takes a lot of airbrushing, dieting, money, and work to look like that.
Remember that even the girl who I'd swap bodies with in a minute has something about her looks that she hates.
Respect my body by feeding it well, working up a sweat when it needs it, and knowing when to give it a break.
Realize that the mirror can reflect only what's on the surface of me, not who I am inside.
Know that I'm already beautiful just the way I am.
You can sign it at http://www.seventeen.com/health-sex-fitness-old/body-types-old/body-peace-pledge.
I also painted references to some scripture that have to do with appearance.
1 Peter 3:3-4 (New International Version)
3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
Proverbs 31:30 (New International Version)
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Psalm 139:14 (New International Version)
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
1 Samuel 16:7 (New International Version)
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
P.S. I've decided mixed media is definately my favorite style of visual art. :)
And I realized that my handwriting is much better when I write in cursive.
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