What're Your Favorite Things About Your Body?
A question we most likely don't ask ourselves enough❤️🔥
When I started recording conversations with guests of the Substack, I decided I wanted to ask each person a few questions about how they relate to their own body to gain further understanding of others’ unique experiences. One of the questions I included is:
“What’s your favorite thing(s) about your body?“
I’ve recorded 15 conversations so far, and the responses have made me emotional. Here are a few of the answers I’ve received from a few of my wonderful and vulnerable guests:
“She’s soft and has the curves of a classic Greek statue!”
“My legs and my smile”
“I currently feel strong!”
“It’s mine! Being a woman is a gift I give myself”
“My eyes, my dimples, my shape!”
“I love my hands - they’ve led me to my artform”
“My curves”
“That I can practice (yoga) in it”
“My ability to use my body for all forms of work and play.”
“My hands”
“I’m starting to appreciate how strong my body is”
This feels like such a revolutionary question to ask someone. We typically spend so much time beating our bodies up, mentally. We nitpick our bodies. We harp on what’s wrong with our bodies. Rarely do we spend time hyping our bodies up, speaking kindly to them, and affirming how strong, incredible, and amazing they are.
Asking others their favorite things about their bodies has led me to question my own. So, here are four of my favorite thing(s) about my body these days:
MY SMILE
When I was three years old, I fell off a kitchen chair (because I was dancing too hard, naturally), and I knocked my two front teeth out. I was two-front toothless until 3rd grade, and while it never affected my self-esteem, I feel so grateful to have my adult teeth safely in my mouth. I also never had braces, and I’m grateful for that as well. I’m also grateful for the smile lines that have started creeping up as I age. My expressive smile is a true representation of who I am as a person, and I adore her.
MY LAUGH
The #1 thing I get complimented on most these days is my laugh. And as a body image advocate, it’s safe to say I love that it’s not about my physical appearance, but rather my spirit. I’m so proud of how vibrant and exuberant she is, while she bounds out of my soul. Laughter is healing - for me, for others. And the fact that people notice mine and take the time/energy to let me know how much they like it makes my heart swell.
MY HAIR
It’s taken me years to embrace my natural hair. (And don’t worry, I’m still on that journey.) I started dying my hair in middle school, a fine blonde > brown > orange. My cousin had to help bring my orange hair back to a semi-normal state. When I got to college, I started experimenting with dying my hair red. I got redder and redder, and I consistently dyed my hair dark red for a solid eight years. In 2018, I started the journey back to my natural color. Seven years later, I’m rocking my fully natural hair color, and I love it so much. It’s hard to think why I ever wanted it to be different; but if living and learning isn’t the theme of life, I don’t know what is.
I also have had curly hair since middle school, and while I’ve tried to embrace it at certain periods of my time in high school and in college, I rejected it for most of my life. I’ve finally started to embrace her natural state with a lot more love and grace. My curls are unpredictable, wild, and unruly. But that’s part of what makes them so beautiful. Again, I don’t know that I’ll ever fully 100% rock them, because I love a good blowout, but I’m well on my way, and for that I am grateful.
MY FRECKLES/IMPERFECT SKIN
I’ve always been a bit freckly, and, naturally, my skin has started to gain more and more texture and visual marks as I continue to evolve as a human. Like many others, I deal with mild cases of eczema, dry skin patches, acne, brittle nails, ingrown hairs, and skin discoloration. My skin is ever-aging, and it’s taken a lot of mental gymnastics to give adoration to my ever-aging skin. I’m sure this will only become more challenging as I continue to grow older, but I’m here for the long haul of embracing myself as I am and learning to love the aging process.
It’s so beyond important to actively remind ourselves how strong and magical our living, breathing vessels are. So I hope you take some time today (and all days) to reflect on what you love and appreciate about your body.
While I do believe that it’s vital we see past the physical parts of ourselves, it’s okay if the things you appreciate about your body are physical attributes. I want to leave us with this question: what if we challenged ourselves to find one physical and one non-physical thing we appreciate about our bodies every single day? How might this shift how we view our bodies and relate to our bodies? Why don’t we f*ck around and find out?😉❤️🔥
xx Megan
While I’m not a licensed therapist, registered dietician, or medical health professional and cannot speak to body image topics from a clinical, trauma-informed place, I am an expert of lived experience. I’m an academic of my own body, and I’m passionate about facilitating conversations with other humans about their relationships with their bodies. I believe it’s important to continue conversations about healthy body image in creative spaces as a means to heal individuals as well as the collective whole. But just know the information presented in this medium is not professional mental health advice or medical advice, and any questions or concerns you have should always be directed to your health providers.