It’s the Tuesday after Labor Day (a hard day, some may say) and I’m in a bathing suit on PhillyMag.com.
Be Well Philly asked to share my story in their new Transformation series. The series used to document the stories of people’s weight loss journeys, but they’re transitioning it to body love & acceptance, something I’m obviously all about.
I did the interview last week over the phone, and was thrilled to be able to (hopefully!) influence the next generation of Philly body positive “influencers.”
The story came out today, and, as a perfectionist, there are a few parts I’m a liiiitle embarrassed about (for example: I grew up next to OCNJ, & did love growing up there. And not *everyone* is thin & tan. It’s surely part of my story, but I probably wouldn’t have placed that much emphasis on that!). It’s not my writing, and as I’m very type A, I’m realizing it’s hard to hand over control of my body love tale to someone else.
But beating myself up over every word is the exact opposite of what I was trying to get across. *The world doesn’t revolve around me.* 😉 And I do think the article captured most of the things I believe got me to the place of body acceptance I’m at today.
Visibility is so, so important
My first job working at a plus size e-commerce brand changed my view of the world. Thank you to @gabifresh, @nicolettemason, @itsmekellieb & countless other OG plus size bloggers for being visible and setting the stage for my early 20s self. And thank you to the bloggers I still get inspiration & confidence from every day, including local ladies @alesandrabev, @journeytocourtney & @everythingemilyann.
Don’t dress like you’re apologizing
Once I started finding & buying clothes that I didn’t feel like were inherently apologizing for the way I looked, my consistency skyrocketed. Crop tops, bikinis, and body-con changed my life.
Surround yourself with people & resources to make you feel your best
Feeling good from from the inside out was really important to my journey. Finding Flywheel, (and instructors Nicole, Tal, Jesse, and more) and now Revel Ride (and owner & instructor Jamie!) & Sanctuary Yoga (and owner & instructor Kilkenny) have made me more confident by pushing & challenging myself to the fullest. My less makeup journey has been propelled by *finally* going to the dermatologist and being proactive about things I can’t fix on my own. Surrounding myself with a team of motivators and experts has been so important for me.
I hope the story resonates with each of you. I’ve been on this journey for 30 years and while I am definitely a work in progress, I’m really, really happy with who I am today.
