Image courtesy of VanityFair.com
I, like millions of other people, watched Kanye West's FADE video on the VMA’s and literally died at the sight of Teyana Taylor’s body. I wanted to pack a bag, run to the gym and live there indefinitely. Her body is a work of art. I mean she is cut, has a great butt and breasts that many women pay great money for. That baby bounce back was all the way real! God has truly blessed her with a beautiful body. Get it Teyana girl!
But I had to check my initial reaction. Why did I want to exchange my figure for hers so easily? And furthermore where did I develop this ideal of what a body should look like?
The answers are vast but at the end of the day, I do love my body. Every inch of my 6’6” was crafted just as her body was, in His image and just for me. This body is specifically mine. I love the skin that I am but that visceral response to the video bothered me.
So I sat with myself for a while. Delving in to my self-image and the word COMPARISON kept popping up. I think we all subconsciously do it…but it needs to stop.
NO MATTER WHAT you will never be like any person that you see because you are tailor made. You are one-of-a-kind and cannot be reproduced. Don’t compare yourself to another soul in this world because there will never be another you and nor should there be. Every single facet of your body is yours. It’s something that can never be taken from you. God has blessed us ALL with beautiful bodies.
The only thing that comparison does is rob us of our self-joy. Spend your time loving you and making your body the best that it can be. And guess what…the definition of the best for your body does not have to be what society feeds you. Let me explain…
Recently I lost 30 lbs. through exercise and healthy choices. I’m not even going to lie…it came off pretty easily. I cut everything out; sugar, meat, coffee etc. I went on a partial fast and never stopped. While the fast helped me in endless spiritual ways (and I would do it again), I continued it for purely cosmetic reasons. I was noticing a flatter stomach and all of the toning that I was doing started to emerge. I was loving it until I lost my chest and backside. Now, there is nothing wrong with that but I liked what I had!
Then, I really missed food. I am a bonafied #HungryTallGirl. When I post that on social, I really mean it. I love a yummy meal, think that the preparation of it is an art and it just enhances my happy. That is the gosh darn truth. When I took away everything, I missed it and in small ways became depressed. I literally was denying myself of something that I genuinely enjoyed for a body that I wasn’t really comfortable in. Instead of working for the best me, I was creating a “me” that I thought I should be. There is a big difference.
Well what if you want to go out and get plastic surgery? Wear makeup? Get a weave?
Go out and get all of that boo! Just make sure that any addition is something that you want and not something that you need. There isn’t one enhancement on this earth that can make you whole internally. Your body and appearance is yours and you can change it however you would like but please use it as expression, not completion.
So who do you want to be? Find that and work on her like no other. Do not let agenda setting dictate who are. Admire and applaud the Teyana’s of the world but cherish yourself.
Whatever you do, don’t get frustrated.
It’s a continual process.
You need to reacquaint yourself with your best self on a daily basis.
Hang out and bond with her. Treat her with respect, pick her up when she is down, cultivate her to be the best that she can be, don’t compare her to others and above all love her unconditionally.
#SelfBodyGoals...now were talkin!