Today I was trying on a few new tops to celebrate the oncoming of spring weather. I was so excited to purchase some pretty things to wear for warmer days! I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help but overhear you in the fitting room across from mine. I heard crying and words that were anything but self-love. Through your tears I heard you proclaim that nothing was going to fit, that nothing looked good, that you should just call it a day and go home. Another woman's voice was trying to reassure you that you just needed to try a different style, that something would work. You weren't convinced; and then there were more tears.
My heart breaks for you to know the truth. I never saw you, but I know that there is so much beauty that you must not see. There is so much pressure on how we should look, and it can have such a negative impact on our view of self. They say we should be skinny. They say we should be curvy. They say we should be tall, short, pale, tan, muscular, thin, blue-eyed, brown-eyed...and all at the same time. "They" say a lot of things, and the truth is---no one will ever fit the perfect mold. Why is it that we all tend to wish we were one another? The curvy girls wish they were skinny while the skinny girls wish they had curves. The tall girls wish they were shorter while the short girls wish they could gain a couple inches. The red-heads wish they were blonde and the blondes wish they were brunette. You would have to have super powers to transform yourself into everything that someone considers beautiful.
We live in a never ending cycle filled with a sad lack of self-love.
So, fellow Target-goer...please know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made JUST AS YOU ARE. Please choose to embrace you for you. Choose to see the beauty that you were created to let shine. We've all been in your shoes in that fitting room at some point and I'll be the first to say... it's the worst when that awesome pair of jeans or that oh-so-cute bikini just doesn't fit right. It's a downright bummer! It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your body, it just means you get to go back to Target tomorrow and find something even better that you will ROCK.
I heard what was in your heart today, and I hope you come to see that your beauty and worth is so much more than what you see in the fitting room mirror.
