A post to women everywhere...

This is probably going to be long. blunt. and about something that has completely changed my life.

The topic: Body Image

Introduction:  We had a whole two and a half hour lecture on this in my class yesterday and it was the most incredible and inspiring lecture i've ever been to in my life. i hope that i can share what i learn and it can affect you as much as it did me.

The real deal:  Body image and how we percieve ourselves is completely based on society.  Less than 100 years ago the "cool thing" was to be pleasantly plump.  That meant you were wealthy because you had money to eat.  Over the years our society has changed that to the complete opposite end of the spectrum.  Now all girls, teens, and adults desire to be skinny and thin.  That's what society is telling us we need to look like.  This is such a scam. 


Seriously girls!  We've come to let ourselves believe that beautiful means looking a certain way. Why would our Father in Heaven ever create something that is not beautiful?  He wouldn't.  We are letting Satan into our lives and letting him tell us that we aren't pretty enough, we aren't thin enough, that because we don't look a certain way we aren't beautiful.  This is all false.
i learned, and agree, that people around us are listening to everything we say about ourselves.  When you say, "Oh, i sure hate my butt" or "Man, i look terrible today" we are telling our Heavenly Father how much we hate ourselves, how much we hate the beautiful gift He gave to us.  Do you realize that we fought for our bodies?  We fought  in heaven to be able to recieve a body and all we do is talk about how much we hate it..
We all have been given different bodies.  That is just another point that we are all unique.  Our society seems to think we need to be this "cookie-cutter body type" when in reality most people aren't going to look a certain way.  We are supposed to love ourselves just the way we are.  please.
Some of you may be saying, "easy for you to say ashley, you are thin." Yes, i realize that.  That is the body i've been given.  i may not have been self-concious about my weight but i have had my share of body image issues.  i used to have bad acne and was self-concious about it.  And now i realize that there is so much more important things to worry about than "that huge zit" or "the extra five pounds."  We didn't fight for our bodies so we could come down and worry about them.  We fought so we could have experiences, to learn, grow, serve, play, love, and live. 

"You can't live your life worrying the world is starring at you.  When you let people's opinions make you self-concious you give away your power...The key to feeling confident is to alwyas listen to your inner-self.

The REAL you."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

(from the talk "To Young Women")

My goal is that we all start a change. today.
i hope you like what you see in the mirror.
No, i hope you love it.

"Change your words so you can change the world."