Friday 20 May 2011

Insecurities of a college girl

Upon reading a food blog, I came across a written perspective:

'On my way home from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, I got to thinking about how much I have changed since high school and even from freshman year of college, for that matter. I wanted to do a special post talking about insecurities. Here it goes-

[insecurities of a college girl]
Everyone is faced with some sort of insecurity. Maybe you think your eyes are too small, your nose is too pointy, or your ears are too big. Maybe you don’t like your freckles or the fact that you only have four toes. I used to be that girl, the one who was never good enough. Not for anyone else and definitely not for myself. I set ridiculous standards and was always striving to be something I wasn’t. My hair was too curly, my skin wasn’t smooth enough, my legs were too muscular, and I wasn’t thinner than the girl next to me.

Having one or two insecurities is perfectly normal (we’re only human), but a list that can't fit on your 10 fingers is not healthy.

What if social norms seized to exist? Or stereotypes? Would we still have insecurities? What if the girl on every magazine cover was a size 6 and had a little junk in the trunk. Would voluptuous be the new thin?

When I started college back in 2008, I was everything but me. I constantly attempted to live the stereotypical college girl life. I stayed up late, I ate- a lot, I skipped class, I was spontaneous, vulnerable, and surprisingly, I was happy- on the outside. On the inside, I was confused and extremely insecure. I wasn’t living for myself, rather for the stereotype.

 I didn’t take the time to ask myself who I wanted be because I was consumed in the thoughts of what other people might think or what they might say. What would my peers think if they found out a 20 year old college girl didn’t like alcohol? Or legitimately liked going to bed at 9:30? Or that quinoa was my favorite grain? How the heck do you even pronounce quinoa let alone cook quinoa? [Haha]

My insecurities led to some major anxiety. I was in a tough place and I thought I was alone. I wasn’t. I was there, for myself- the entire time. I just had stop and ask myself a few simple questions. What do I want? What do I love? Who am I? 

To be free from these irrational insecurities you need to wake up every morning and take a second to think, to breath, to be. Setting [attainable] goals for myself, being patient, growing, achieving, making mistakes, and shining through my insecurities were all part of this process. Eventually, I embraced the athletic thighs [and ba-donk-a-donk] and all of the genes I was blessed with.

What I’ve grown to realize is that we humans, are not perfect. The social standards that we have constructed for ourselves are just silly. That perfect girl, with the perfect legs and the perfect hair- why? Be different. Be healthy. The human race is fascinating- because we are all unique. 

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do and you don't have to conform. You have the power to be who you want to be and that little something called society- doesn’t have as much control over your life as you may think.

Bam
-L '

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