Fat Talk : (

I've spent the past few weeks reading about body image. As a college-aged woman, my body is definitely something I think about a lot. I worry about health issues, my tan lines, those persistently jiggly bits, future wrinkles, my complexion-- you name it, I worry about it.

Living on my own has helped me to learn many lessons about myself:

I cannot keep cookies in my room.
When my mom's not here to force me to eat vegetables, I don't.
Even though I feel gross after a run, the sweat is kind of the point.
I have to work hard not to compare myself to other girls.

This last point has been my most difficult. My freshman year, I moved into an all-girl's dorm and my roommate was a gorgeous, fit, tan softball player, Scooter. She was the most wonderful roommate I could have asked for, but sometimes I felt plain old frumpy next to her. I had to keep reminding myself that although I would never look just like her (she's about six inches shorter than me), I still had beautiful things about me. Trust me, it was tough.

About a year ago, I joined the Tri Delta chapter at my school. This meant that I began spending hours and hours every week with some of the most breath-takingly gorgeous girls I had seen in my life! Talk about an inferiority complex! It seemed like every single girl was tan, thin, great hair, great skin, and completely confident. I felt like a little pudgy mouse compared to all of them. However, these girls became some of my greatest supporters in finding my own beauty. My sorority sisters strive to eat healthy, not to "diet." They work out in groups so that it's more fun. And they never let another sister put herself down. In fact, Tri Delta helped to found the National Fat Talk Free Week, where girls strive not to "fat talk" themselves or allow others to do it.

I was so inspired by Fat Talk Free Week, that I decided to use it to help out the freshmen girls I was mentoring. Every day that week, I sent them a text message that I hoped would make them smile and feel beautiful. I'm pretty sure that those positives texts helped me even more than they helped them. By looking for the beauty in my students, I was able to find beauty in myself. By teaching them about virtue and character and inner beauty, I learned about those things myself.

Take some time this week to find all the things about yourself that are beautiful. Your smile, your arms, the way your eyes light up when you are with your significant other. I know you're beautiful, and I want you to know it too. Share the love to, and show your friends how beautiful they are. You'll feel better too!

gaga shoes!

Some fun things I've found this week!


Moma Propaganda has made some of the coolest social networking ad's designed as they might have been in the 1960's. The pictures are so fun and kitsch and it's so fun to see how times have changed! See a larger set here.



Speaking of social media, Gabi Gregg has been chosen as MTV's first "twitter jockey" or TJ. I think that this is a great way for MTV to fully connect to its audience, and for our generation to continue our love of digital self-expression! See her blog, "Young, Fat, and Fabulous" here. Not only is she gorgeous, her fashion advice is spot-on and she's a great advocate and supporter of plus-sized (real-sized) models. Great choice MTV!

I also LOVE these Lady Gaga-inspired heels!! So fun and tough at the same time. Unfortunately, the five-inch heel would be a bit much for my already 5'6" height. Not to mention the price tag! *sigh* Maybe someday!

The Cup is Half...?

I was recently hanging out on a philosophy website, looking for inspiration when I came across this article about pessimism vs. optimism. Being a perpetual optimist who often finds herself friends with stalwart pessimists, I found this topic really interesting. The question: Is it more rational to be optimistic or pessimistic?

I think the first idea that really needs to be explored is whether one can choose to be optimistic or pessimistic. I have had a sunny outlook for as long as I can remember. Thinking over some of my most negative-minded friends, I feel that their attitude comes naturally to them. However, I feel that over time, one could mindfully change from one to the other. To me, optimism (or pessimism for that matter) is a practiced habit. I think we can agree that if you work hard, you can put yourself into a good mood or into a bad one. If you do this for long enough periods of time, it becomes more natural. For instance, if on a bad day you put on your favorite pair of jeans, make some plans with your friends, and rock out to a great song, then you are likely to end up in a good mood. After several weeks of this behavior, changing your mood will become instinctual rather than a mental effort. I think that as this continues, you can actually make yourself into a more positive and optimistic person. Or, contrariwise, you can become more pessimistic.

Ok, so we have established that one probably can change from an optimist to a pessimist or vice versa. But that begs the question, which one is better? I think we've all heard arguments for both sides. Pessimism is "better" because if you expect the worst you will never be disappointed. Optimism is "better" because if you set yourself up for success with a positive attitude, then you are more likely to be successful (self-fulfilling prophecies and all that).

In an interesting solution to the problem, we could all end up pessimists. Bear with me here. If offered the choice to change viewpoints, I feel that the pessimist would want to remain pessimistic. In his view, changing to optimism could only have bad results and as such, would be a foolish venture. Given the same choice, I think the optimist would be likely to change to pessimism, feeling that the switch could only reap good benefits. Consequently, the entire world would become pessimistic.

Again, however, this is all silly, early-morning postulating. If I was given the choice to become a pessimist (which, as described before, I already have that option) I think I would remain an optimist. To me, life is a lot more fun when you can enter every activity sure that it won't just turn out ok, it will be great!

Your turn!
1) Are you an optimist or pessimist? Or a little bit of both? Or the ever-elusive realist?
2) Which attitude seems "better" to you and why?
3) Would you switch from being an optimist to a pessimist? Or vice-versa?

Look What I Can Do!

Operationbeautiful has deemed this week "change the way you see, not the way you look" week, and in honor of that fantastic holiday, I am going to do a body-beauty post.

This past summer, I have been really striving to love my body. It is truly not any easy thing to do. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting my body or that it has a mind of its own. On those days when my jeans don't fit right, my skin breaks out, and my joints refuse to let me walk even 100 feet, I often wish I could trade this body in for something else, something better. Ever have that feeling?

Fortunately, through some very supportive friends and family and fantastic advice from very wise people, I have come up with some ways to beat the body blues. One of these tactics I like to call my "look what I can do list." The idea is fairly simple. Just make a list of all the things your body can do. It may be tough to get started but once you get going, you'll find that you likely don't have enough paper to write it all down! Here is an excerpt from my list:

My body lets me---
breathe, sing, dance, run a 5k, eat yummy food, hug my niece, wear fun clothes, read books, take walks, smile, laugh, hula hoop, drive, plant flowers, jump on trampolines, swim, roll down hills, live on my own, make pbjs

I already feel more confident just writing all of that! The important thing here is to really focus on the positives. Yes, my body has many flaws. But also yes, my body does some pretty great things! What cool things does your body do?