For quite some time while growing up, I struggled with the way I looked while standing in front of a mirror. At times, I might be there looking at myself and wishing that I had a different body physique... have a fuller body, like chubby, lighter, and even tall. I will say that the way we look at ourselves is sometimes being shaped by the society we live in; this might not be applicable to everyone, but some can testify to this. When we take our mobile phone and scroll through those Instagram posts, we stumble on a perfect, doctored picture of some models, which might sometimes make us feel like our body is not worthy of self-love.
But as time goes on in my life, I have gotten to understand that body positivity goes beyond posting nice pictures filled with different hashtags online, and that it is about appreciating and loving my body anytime I wake up. It's about choosing myself and confessing that I am more than enough in this, my slim body, my light complexion, and my height. Choosing to say this alone gives me inner peace, and at the same time I am always being careful because I have seen how body positivity brought out the toxic side of some people.
By bringing out the toxic side, I know you might be wondering, but in a nutshell, this is what I am saying: yes, it is fine to appreciate how we look, but our health should not be abandoned. Loving the way I look does not stop the fact that I have to risk not taking proper care of myself, no. I have seen some people around me who have abandoned their health, and they are also covering up their body positivity. I see them eating like there is no tomorrow; still, they will be running away from checkups and moving around like everything is okay. Well, that is self-denial because I do not see it as love; it is far from it.
I am a Yorùbá boy, and in the place where I am from, those who care about you will not hesitate to speak up about your body, whether you look sick, your stomach is coming out, you look stressed, you added extra kg to your body, or you lost some. At first, those words seem very brutal, but that is just the truth about my society's expectations and not my matter. Because the truth of the matter is how my body feels health wisely, the choice I make and not what the society thinks.
So, personally, having body positivity is a good balance because it is deciding to be happy with who I am and also deciding to take proper care of my body. It is showing kindness to myself without allowing the way I am now comfortable with my body to turn into negligence because this body of mine houses everything in me, and if I refuse to admire, cherish, and take proper care of it, who will do that for me?
---
Thank you for reading.
>
Images created by MetaAi
