A Whole New ME!

I am really proud of myself! Close to eight months, eight countries, and all by myself. I've been selfish, I've fallen in love, I've fallen out of love, I've accepted and embraced me for me, and for once, I really like my hair! :) I've learned the importance of balance--of working hard and enjoying the things in life that I love. It's okay to spend money on myself, to treat myself to nice things, and demand only the best. And finally, I've started to let go of the pressure I've always put on myself to be thin. Food and exercise have been a nagging obsession that I have struggled to abandon for years--my stomach isn't flat enough, my legs are too big--an persistently unhealthy obsession with body image that has stuck with me despite incessant attempts to abandon it. I never had the self control or true desire to starve myself, but thoughts of calories and exercise were always on my mind. And now finally, I am starting to let go. Who cares if my stomach isn't as firm as the girls in magazines or my legs aren't as thin as the next girls. I've been blessed with a healthy, functional body that allows me to do everything I love, why hasn't that been enough? I have more important things to think about than focusing unnecessary energy on my imperfections and striving for unrealistic, conformist ideals of beauty. I've finally let myself focus on the great things that make me, me. It's liberating, it's freeing, and it's one of the biggest accomplishments of my life.