the selfie situation

if you haven’t heard or seen yet, i made my february photo challenge a little bit different this month. go on over to the left side of my page here and scroll down till you see the “february photo journey” photo. see it? good. now click it and go read about this month’s challenge, if you haven’t already.

i’ll wait for you.

ok? so you got it? the photo challenge is all about loving yourself, exactly as you are and taking selfies to prove it. well, it’s only been 4 days, but of selfies, but  i have learned a lot in just a little bit of time:

1. people reaaaally dislike taking selfies, so this month’s challenge is really a challenge. i’ve heard lots of “complaints”.
2. but we will take them anyway, because the challenge is there. and we all love a challenge.
3. why will we take them anyway? because ALL of us have self esteem/self image/self confidence/body issues. and we really don’t want to live with those issues.
4. we are drawn to challenges that help us process all of those issues because truly we all want to love ourselves more.
5. and a community of support (= photo challenge buddies) encourages us greatly and helps us learn how to do just that: appreciate who we are and hold us accountable for sticking with the challenge. we need each other!

i have been overwhelmed at the response on instagram for this photo a day journey. i have met so many new people and found tons of new instagram artists who inspire me. it’s amazing how people are just putting themselves out there, sharing what’s tough about this, but holding on to the belief that in the end of february, we will all be better people because we stuck with it.  go onto instagram (if you have it) and check the #bllphotoaday has tag feed. you will see some amazing faces, bodies, and people there. i promise.

i even had a dear friend do a blog post on the photo challenge, inspiring me and other to give it our all. and to laugh at ourselves and live healthy lives.

so, you know what? we don’t really like selfies. we think we’re being arrogant and selfish and who really wants to see us anyway? like one person said, there are much more beautiful things to take photo of. right? who wants an entire instagram feed filled with photos of themselves?

oh there are so many tempting reasons why we should drop this photo challenge. but, i truly believe in it. i truly believe that we can support each other and fight against all of the crazy, stupid societal pressures to be perfect inside and out. so, i’m not giving up. don’t you either.

“The person in life that you will always be with the most, is yourself. Because even when you are with others, you are still with yourself, too! When you wake up in the morning, you are with yourself, laying in bed at night you are with yourself, walking down the street in the sunlight you are with yourself.What kind of person do you want to walk down the street with? What kind of person do you want to wake up in the morning with? What kind of person do you want to see at the end of the day before you fall asleep? Because that person is yourself, and it’s your responsibility to be that person you want to be with. I know I want to spend my life with a person who knows how to let things go, who’s not full of hate, who’s able to smile and be carefree. So that’s who I have to be.”

― C. JoyBell C.

“To the people who love you, you are beautiful already. This is not because they’re blind to your shortcomings but because they so clearly see your soul. Your shortcomings then dim by comparison. The people who care about you are willing to let you be imperfect and beautiful, too. (20)”

― Victoria Moran, Lit From Within: Tending Your Soul For Lifelong Beauty

peace and love. xx