Notes on Body Image

Let's have an important conversation about body image.

Just lately, I have been a part of an alarming amount of conversations surrounding bodies and the numbers we associate with them. Maybe it’s the summer season making us all a little more conscious of the skin we’re in as we slip into a pair of shorts or shimmy into a bathing suit.

Recently I was referred to by someone as “big” ... While I wish they had been referencing my brain, my smile, my heart, or my laugh, they were actually referencing my body. And therein is what I’d like to zoom all the way in on.

MY body.

The truth about our bodies is that they are one thing and one thing only: the vehicle by which we will experience our life. It is simply (and magnificently) the vessel for our soul, the packaging to our person. It is OUR OWN to dress, to decorate, to nourish, to come home to, and most importantly, your body is yours to define.

I have long struggled with the “body positivity” movement because I have found that many times the conversation sounds like “I need you to accept my body.” Here’s a little truth bomb for ya — you do not need anyone to accept your body. YOU need to accept your body. When you get to that place, that is where you can become truly positive about your vessel and take care of her, wholly.

Hearing “big” as a negative reference to my body stung like a needle inking it into my skin.

Branding me somehow less worthy because my vessel happens to take up more space than someone else. I actually felt the need to explain myself, my weight, to this person. (Ever been there?) As I went to open my (big) mouth, I thought of our culture haunted by smallness... and decided that I would not be reduced. And neither should you.

Whatever word is defining your body, your relationships, your dreams, your desires... may it be one that YOU choose.

So in THAT spirit, here is a picture of my big smile + my big brain + my big heart in my favorite little black dress.