Social media and me

Social media is what you make it ~

I used to only have pictures like the ones on the left..but that was only because I felt that was the only side of myself that acceptable to show. But its not. My attitude to social media was so unhealthy, I constantly compared myself to these perfect images I always saw and when I didn’t look the same I wouldn’t show it. Both sides of the photo is me, sometimes I like to get dressed up and pose and feel like a bad ass BUT that is not how I always look and that’s what’s so important to realise.
If your feed is filled with things that make you feel bad about who you are don’t follow them. Unfollow anyone who pressures you into doing anything that doesn’t make you happy. Follow accounts that bring you joy and help you grow as a person. Anything less than that is not worth your time!
Please don’t compare yourself to what you see on social because what you see is not real. People don’t tend to post anything other than what they deem as ‘perfection’ and life isn’t perfect, but that is exactly what makes it so beautiful. It is impossible to be what you see on others social media because it’s NOT real so use this platform to further yourself not to deflate yourself.

Learning to love you

I am sure that many of us can find common ground in that we may not always have the healthiest relationship with our body image. Be that because we feel we are too big, too small, have too much cellulite, too many wrinkles and stretch marks or whatever your insecurities may be. So many of us let what we have been told we need to look like in order for society to label us as ‘beautiful’ determine our self-worth. But beauty is not about fitting a mould, beauty is about being yourself, it’s about the fact that we are all so unique and diverse.

What we always need to remember is that bodies change. It is not possible for us to maintain the exact same body over time, be that due to age, illness, mental health or anything else that impacts on our physical appearance. Self-love comes from understanding that regardless of how your body may change, of how you may look, you are still beautiful because you are yourself and your worth is based on so much more than appearance.

I know – from personal experience – that this acceptance is much easier said than done, but if you become more aware of how you talk to yourself, how you treat yourself and how you let others treat you, growth will begin to occur. Tell yourself every day that you are beautiful, strong, kind and that you can do this. Little changes like this, when consistent, make big differences. Please do not forget to treat yourself with the kindness and respect that you would treat a loved one with. You are beautiful and anyone who tells you otherwise should not be allowed the privilege of holding any value in your life. Bodies change, your value does not, please remember the two are not associated.

‘Perfect’

Your mental health is no joke,

So when they sneer at the flesh around your hips,

And laugh at anything less than ‘perfect’,

Remind them,

You were not made for their gratification,

You were made to be a politician,

An athlete,

A singer,

A doctor,

You were made to be whatever you want,

Their laughter is their own loss.

Perfection

You have five new likes,

ten comments and four DMs,

twelve new people have requested to follow you,

have looked at your bio and decided they must get to know you,

because you speak two languages and have dark tanned skin,

your body looks peng in that picture,

you look so damn slim,

hey babe what’s your snapchat xx,

watch how they slide into your DMs,

throw compliments at you based on one picture that took 45 attempts,

because the lighting makes you glow,

and that angle is the best,

and by best I mean unrealistic,

I mean your attempt at being perfect,

because all these other girls always look so perfect,

smile so perfect,

are so perfect,

because they get 10,000 likes so,

that must be what we idealise,

I have to be that perfect,

why am I not perfect