Don't Try So Hard

The second I read about the Don't Try So Hard Linkup, I took a photo of myself and was ready to link up. I think it's a great idea, especially as someone who regularly disparages myself and overexposes my own photos to make me look better.

Here's what the link up is all about:

We needed to take a picture of ourselves where we're "not trying so hard." No makeup, no muss, no fuss. Here's mine!

Unshowered, no makeup, greasy face and hair. Good morning!

Then, we need to make sure to list at least one thing we find beautiful about ourselves.

I really really love my eyes. They are a beautiful color of blue, I have really long eyelashes, and I have a weird infatuation with my eyebrows. Even when I'm feeling fat and ugly and don't feel like putting on clothes or makeup, I put on some mascara (because otherwise my eyelashes are blonde and see-through) and look in the mirror and feel pretty just because of the uniqueness and brightness of my eyes.

I attack myself mentally every day about how I look. I hate my hair, my nose, every inch of my body. When I see a thin woman in a magazine or on tv, I find myself thinking, "What's that like? What's it like to be pretty?" The entire time I'm watching a stupid show like The Bachelorette I wonder, "How the hell do their thighs look like that in a bikini? What am I doing wrong?" It's actually pretty damn exhausting and unhealthy. I remember reading a comment on Reddit on a thread about that movie Magic Mike where a male reader said something along the lines of, "Is this how women feel all the time?!" referencing how bad the men's bodies in that movie made him feel about himself. Yep. That's how most of us feel all the time.

Which is pretty stupid when you think about it. If MOST OF US feel like that all the time, then we are the majority and we should feel normal, right? It's dumb. We're all beautiful in our own ways. I'm healthy and happy and take care of myself so maybe I should stop staring at everyone else's thighs for awhile?

That being said, it's nice to take a moment to embrace myself and something I love about me, not the skinny chicks on tv, but me. (Also, I'm married and don't have to go on tv to "fall in love" in a week so I guess I'll take my life and thighs over theirs?)

What do you find beautiful about yourself? (I think you're a hottie, personally)