For All The Women Who Don’t Have Perfect Bodies, This Is Our Fight Song

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I don’t have the perfect body but I have a gorgeous body. This is my fight song.

My body has ripples and curves and soft spots that are beautiful. I’ve enjoyed many feasts; many glasses of wine. When I savor a pizza, I think back to the times I didn’t l et myself eat stuff like that. I remember feeling like I needed permission to indulge. I realize now just how little it matters to “be skinny”. Bigger or smaller, my life can hold the same amount of passion, joy and adventure.

I forgive myself for being fearful and feeling inadequate. I apologize to my body for making it earn the nourishment it freely deserved. I promise to never use exercise like points to be redeemed for food.

My skin has splotches and freckles and scars that are beautiful. I love the sun, being outdoors and adventure. I love running the trails by my house on a cool day. I love driving through Malibu canyon to the beach with the windows down. I’ve been scraped and bruised and torn up by nature, and I love it. The fairness of my skin and the pattern of my freckles has nothing to do with my body’s potential.

I forgive myself for trying to compete with other women. I apologize for participating in female-rival culture, where we pit ourselves against each other over e verything. I promise to build up women everywhere, because we are extraordinary and magnificent.

My imperfections are everywhere, and they are beautiful. My hands and feet are calloused, my cuticles are less than impeccable and my hair is chaotic. At some point in time, I’ve wished parts of me away. Luckily, my body is smarter than I am. It has been maltreated and rejected but it has persisted. I’ve spent precious time attempting to construct and portray the “perfect” me. The truth is, nothing I do can make any inch of me more valuable than it already is.

I forgive myself for basing my self-worth on my appearance. I apologize to my body for exhausting it, for burdening it with expectations, for tearing it down in my words. I promise to cherish it and show it gratitude.

Today, perfection takes on a new meaning. Perfect means perseverance despite hardship. Perfect means individuality over conformity. Perfect means acceptance instead of criticism.

I thank my body for being so strong. My body may be flawed, but it is not broken. Instead, I choose to believe that every inch of me is significant. And so are you.