Loving my body has never come easy to me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always felt uncomfortable and limited in this shell that is so gracefully and willingly allowing me to experience life to the fullest. I wasted so, so many years nitpicking my body and feeling that if only I could look perfect at all times, perhaps one day I could receive the love I was longing for; a deeply rooted trauma that would play itself out with the men I picked to be in relationships with later on. I’ve spent the last 3+ years on truly digging deep when it comes to the relationship with myself which is reflected in the relationships around me, too. I’ll never try to claim that I don’t have days where I can’t be judgmental of my body because that just wouldn’t be true. I’m human like the rest of you. But, I’ve learnt, and continue to learn, that I am so much more than my body and my looks. I’m learning to love and emphasise all the other qualities that I have on the inside. Those that really matter. I no longer date with the aspect of ‘I need them to like me’. I consciously date to figure out who and what I like. What I want and need. There’s a very big difference in that approach. It’s no longer about others; it’s about myself. This journey is one that is forever evolving for me. Peeling back more and more layers yet the journey just keeps getting more interesting as the days go by. There’s a certain joy in piecing yourself back together again and leaving the parts behind that no longer serve you. Even if it’s incredibly hard and emotional work. It’s all worth it. Life is too fkn short to live it based on what other people want you to be ❤️