Take care of your body; it works hard for you!
This is something that my best friend reminds me of whenever I am feeling down about myself and it has truly changed how I think about my body and treat myself on a daily basis. I want to take this opportunity to remind others (like my best friend reminds me): every single day your body works so hard for YOU! Every single part of your body works together and allows your heart to beat and pump blood and keeps your lungs breathing, every little action requires your body to work so hard and you need to thank it and love it by treating it right. I can say from personal experience that it can be very easy to get caught up in societal beauty standards and to compare yourselves to others. Just because we have bad days or feel less beautiful it is no reason to look down on yourself because at the end of the day, your beauty has nothing to do with what you look like it is all about the kind of person you are.
Each day take time to spend time with yourself doing something that makes you happy. This could be reading a book, doing some yoga or meditation, taking a shower or cooking your favourite food. For me I like to get outside and take a walk every day. My favourite thing is wandering through Hawrelak Park and going down to the river. I find that taking some time to reflect on my day and listen to music has been super beneficial. Especially in times like this when there is not much to do outside of your house, I find that I am forcing myself to spend most of my time on schoolwork which of course is important, but it is even more important to give yourself some mental breaks without feeling guilty about it.
Personally, I am someone who really tries to look after my friends but recently I have learned the importance of looking after myself. I always really struggled with loving myself and feeling confident but when I started thinking about things in terms of what goes on inside my body everyday it became easier for me to take a step back and appreciate myself. I hope that thinking about it this way can help someone else too! It’s okay to have lazy days, it’s okay to not finish all your work, it’s okay to eat dessert and it is okay to have bad days. You should never feel guilty for something that makes you happy or brings you peace. Your body and mind are your home for your entire life, always remember to treat them with love and forgiveness.
-Written By: Anonymous