My perfect day would be drinking an iced latte with almond milk, jamming to Taylor Swift, drowning my sorrows in wine during Grey’s Anatomy, raving about The Bachelor, devouring a whole pot of pasta, and shopping on Amazon for candles I don’t need as New Girl plays in the background.
Everything about that day would be basic, and I have grown to learn that I genuinely love being basic! When I was younger, I thought it was terrible to like things that everyone else enjoyed. Now, I fangirl over The Bachelor more intensely than anyone else, I blast Taylor Swift like she is going out of style, and I don’t think twice about spending far too much on that syrup-filled coffee.
Do you know what the best thing about this is? That there are 10 million other females right there with me: tweeting about how Barb on The Bachelor is the worst, trying to stay up until midnight for T. Swift’s newest album, and bursting with joy from their morning cup of gold.
Being basic makes you relatable. By this far into SLNW, it is evident that I adore being relatable. I thrive because of it!
When I am at a concert, I am ecstatic that I am surrounded by thousands of fans who also adore this art. When I am on Twitter during The Bachelor, I feel like I am chatting with hundreds of friends. When I am in the coffee line, I strike a conversation, knowing that we are all here for the same purpose: to satisfy our unnecessary addiction.
Having the same interests does not make us dull.
Dancing to Taylor Swift means that we all find her lyrics relatable and cringe-dance-moves-worthy.
Crying at Grey’s Anatomy means that we have let a show into our hearts, and we all feel each other’s pain every Thursday night.
Ordering $6 coffee means that we all realize it is okay to treat ourselves with life’s small luxuries – after all, we are hard-working. We all deserve happiness in a cup during those long Tuesday’s that should be Thursday’s.
Eating a whole pan of pasta shows that carbs are objectively bomb – of course carbs are delicious, everything unhealthy is.
Shopping for Amazon candles represents our love for having scents coordinate with the season – we can all be Pinterest copycats!
Living life with New Girl in the background shows that we are all responsible doing our laundry, cooking our pasta, or painting our nails. However, the New Girl crew makes terrible life decisions that appear to be a bit more fun than another load of dishes. It isn’t a crime to fantasize about being irresponsible!
Being relatable and basic is what I’m all about. It sparks friendships, small talk, and happiness! I appreciate that my interests are basic because it connects me with so many people: a shared smile, hobby, and love.
Nothing makes me happier than being a part of the basic community.
As much as I relate to females in positive ways, there are heavier similarities. Resemblances that I anticipated discussing in February; however, many readers enjoy serious topics.
So, like, we are going to start the conversation today.
There has never been a person that I have met that does not struggle with insecurities regarding their body.
Too much cellulite, small boobs, large waist, stretch-mark covered thighs, a round belly, flabby arms, chunky ankles, back fat, and on and on.
We all have issues with our bodies. Maybe some of us go through phases, stages, years, decades, or our lives despising every part of our body.
We know that God sculpted our frames. We recognize that people honk because they think we are uber hot. We understand that we are so fortunate and blessed to have such healthy bodies.
Nonetheless, we may go through a period where we feel defeated with our appearances.
Especially considering how much COVID weight we all gained, or how much weight we will gain once Thanksgiving hits, or maybe this year has had one too many venti Frappuccino days.
Whatever the reasoning may be, I do believe that most of us have experienced this frustration.
We understand we shouldn’t be so irritated, but we still are. We want to feel better, but we don’t know how.
So, Like, Now What?
First, I cannot stress enough about the importance of making this a common conversation.
Please, talk about these frustrations, talk about your feelings, talk about your body. This will show everyone how recurrent these issues arise.
If you have not dealt with concerns regarding your body, I promise you that many people do. Some are more severe than others, and that is why this issue should be discussed.
According to ANAD (2020), 28.8 million Americans have an eating disorder at some point in their lifetime. Woah.
This blog post isn’t dedicated to eating disorders; however, I would like to cover it sometime. Maybe in February during awareness.
Not all body insecurities lead to eating disorders, but they still aren’t healthy mentally.
Here are my critical three tips on thinking positively about your body. These are the things that work for me but may not work for you.
Know Your Relationship With Food
There were times when I felt extra harsh on my body.
When this started happening in high school, I started noting what I was eating before this self-criticism began. After doing that, I realized that foods like bread and hamburgers usually made me feel bad about myself.
Considering that I could scarf down a pint of ice cream, a bag of chips, and strawberry shortcakes and not feel terrible, this may seem odd.
But that is my relationship with food. After consuming those specifc foods, I would start being extra judgmental of my body. (Not so much anymore because a relationship can change!)
After cutting those foods out, I realized that I felt a lot better.
If you have patches of aggressive insecurity or negativity, I encourage you to start a food journal. This may help you determine foods that are subconsciously sparking these thoughts and feelings.
Furthermore, I have a friend at work who studied food science briefly in college. She told me that food could worsen anxiety, depression, and other emotions – that explains why certain foods pushed me into negative places.
I am not even close to an expert on the correlation between food and feelings; however, I love reading about it. I could do hours upon hours of research and still have so much to learn. The research that has been conducted is so interesting, and I would highly recommend looking into this if you are struggling with feelings.
Eat This Not That published an article (2020) that reveals 17 foods that heighten depression and anxiety.
Check it out, and if you like it, they have several other articles and podcasts!
Dress for Success
As much as I love a fancy dress, that is not what I am recommending when I say, “dress for success.”
Instead, I mean, wear whatever makes you feel good!
If that is a size bigger than your size is, a piece from 1944, or the basic cheetah print – rock it!
It’s pretty hard to be irritated with your body when you know you look damn good.
I am a massive advocate for representing your personality through your wardrobe. I’d say I am corky, awkward, and basic. Do you know what the best outfit for that would be? Some jeggings, a Bachelor shirt, and tassel earrings.
My clothes make me feel like me. Your clothes should make you feel like you!
It’s not about showing off your rockin’ body, although that is a great thing to do, but feeling fabulous in your body!
Ever since I began embracing the tassels, pineapple earrings, and cliché tees, I have felt so good about my body.
Who cares that I wear shapewear, shorts a size too big, obnoxious earrings, cheetah skirts, and shoes that look like pearls vomited on them?
No one cares because I am happy, and I know I look like the best me there is.
Don’t focus on how your body sucks, but how you could make those ‘imperfections’ awesome!
For example, I don’t love that my stomach isn’t 200% flat. So, I wear shapewear under my dresses. I’ll be honest – I am not sure if it makes a difference. But it makes me feel good, so I’m going to continue to shimmy in those Spanx!
Throw Out the Scale
People always say, “man, I gained 5 pounds since last week!”
Girl. Are you sure you don’t have to poop? Are you retaining water to start your period? Is it a different time in the day?
I don’t see the five pounds, so do not stress, worry, or obsess.
But I relate. So, like, I know that you will most definitely stress, worry, and obsess.
The best thing I ever did was pitch the weight scale. You couldn’t find one in my house, and you never will.
Weight fluxgates, and it is not something to worry about.
If you are healthily trying to lose weight, the best thing to do is measure parts of your body.
Muscle weighs more than fat, so as you start gaining weight, you may be losing inches.
It seems like the scale just wants to be a toxic, liar – so cut it out of your life! Especially if you are struggling or someone in your household does.
I’ll say it one more time for the people just skimming:
Throw that POS scale out!
Honestly, throw out everything that makes you feel bad: the certain foods, the iffy pieces of clothing, the calorie counting, and maybe even working out.
Having a healthy relationship with your body is different for everyone.
Take some time to reflect and figure out what makes you feel your best.
2020 has been a shitshow of a year, and the least you can do is let yourself feel good about your body. It is what you deserve!
This week I challenge you to welcome the basic parts of you, embrace your body, and live your best week! One of these weeks has to be flawless – right?
Sources
(2020). Eating disorder statistics. ANAD: Your Future is Worth Fighting For. Retrieved September 27, 2020, from https://anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/
So, Like, Now What? 