for the past two years, it has been my job to take pictures of people during "love your body week" (which has successfully turned into "love you body month" here). the goal is to take pictures of people loving their bodies, identifying what they love. Some women choose their hair or their eyes and others venture on to say "i love everything," "i love my curves," or even "i love my body". as much as the forced social interaction stresses me out, it can be rewarding to see people who are so confident and even people who aren't so comfortable but manage to come up with something that they really do like about themselves. i like the project, i like the finished product, but i don't like how much it forces me to realize how uncomfortable i am.
i want to challenge myself, i want to say with confidence and honesty that i, too, love my body, that my insecurity is not in my figure or form. or maybe more realistically that my insecurity is not a hatred, that it will not limit me.
me in 2008
so how does one find solace in themselves when they are crippled by their self-judgment? is it a learning process? do you have to lie until you trick yourself into believe that you will be okay, that you are okay? or do you push through life looking for excuses to like yourself, outlets that make you feel like your life is worth something. that your body is worth something.
