Stop Hating Your Body

Personal Time: I've struggled with body confidence for so long it's embarrassing. I have hinted at my struggles within past blogs, but I decided to dedicate a whole blog to the issue. Who knows? If it can help even one and a half of you feel better, ya girl is happy.

It all started in the summer of 9th grade when I realized that guys liked girls who were thin and or fit. For the first time, I thought that the reason I never had a boyfriend was because my body wasn't ideal. (MIND YOU, I WAS ONLY 115 POUNDS AT THIS TIME. SO SILLY.) That summer, I began spending hours on the internet looking at images of thin and fit women. That summer, I cut my daily caloric intake to 1200 calories. I was flooded with guilt after eating a freaking muffin. A MUFFIN. That summer, I turned down hanging out with my friends so that I could just get one more workout in. I began measuring my waist, hips, and bust, simply to make sure I was shrinking. I began measuring my self worth on the size of my waist.

Funny thing is? I was never ever satisfied. I never began resembling the girls I was striving to look like on a tumblr "Fitspo" page. Why? My body, my bones, my curves, my entire structure was created differently. The thinner I got, the worse I actually looked. I wasn't proportional. More importantly? I was unhappy.

One day, I simply quit. Sad thing? That one day was 6 months ago. Five years I spent living with a striving heart. A striving heart is someone who is so focused on their own goals, that they have no time to give to others. No time to simply sit down, listen to others, and offer support. I love helping others, but I struggled with putting my whole heart into a situation because "there was always something I could be doing to better myself."


TURNS OUT IT'S OKAY TO GO UP A SIZE IN YOUR  CLOTHES. Turns out, you don't die. Turns out, you lose absolutely no friends. Turns out, not a soul notices or cares. Turns out, you become more beautiful when you accept yourself.

Accept who you are. 

Once I accepted the face that I will never be Candice Swanepoel and began loving myself, everything changed. I found out what I really enjoyed: my personal interests and hobbies. I began looking at the things I loved about myself in the mirror instead of the 933984302 things I could find wrong. I began to realize that not everyone is going to like the things that I like and that's okay.

Open your eyes to the passions that God has placed in you, and run with them. Stop putting your life on hold to have a certain appearance to the world. God gave us dreams, desires, and talents, why waste them trying to achieve someone else's?

The Generation of Lonely

If one were to explain this generation by their actions, many ideas would come to mind: The Party Generation, The Narcissists, Sex-obsessed, or Spoiled. Each log in on social media, follows a log off with envy. We subconsciously are comparing ourselves to the lives of others. The media has suffocated us with the idea that we are missing out on life if we aren't drunk at least 3 nights of the week. You're missing out if you aren't sleeping around while you still can. The only way to achieve happiness is through wealth, success, and endless attention. However, if you haven't noticed, some of the most lonely people in the world have gained all those things. The same pop culture that tells you how to be happy, also has substantial suicides, drug abuse, and divorce. Why? They are so lonely. 

Our generation drowns themselves in alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. due to the underlying terror of being alone. Our generation has grown up in a time where the media targets our biggest insecurities in order for their industry to thrive. Depressed? Alcohol. Lonely? Sex. Stressed? Drugs. Insecure? Lose weight. Everything we have access to is to distract us from the feeling of loneliness that we mustn't ever accept, right? 

But what happens when your high crashes or your partner for the night leaves? The media never tells that side of the story: The Lonely. We are all so incredibly lonely. We look for anything to fill the holes. The more God is silenced, the more lonely we feel. 

Do you ever wonder what we, as humans, were made for? If you say companionship, you're right. In fact, the media is not wrong with their portrayal of happiness as a group of friends laughing. However, our main relationship was meant to be with God. God wired us for community and connection, yes, but if we aren't careful, we make the mistake of placing our happiness in friends or a significant other. We were created for a relationship with God, above all else. 

"...The Lord your God goes with you; 

He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

We were never ever created to be lonely. God says over and over, "I am with you." He says He will never leave us, nor forsake us. Everything in this world is fleeting, and will constantly leave us wanting more. Not God. He knows our every need. If we would simply spend time with Him instead of googling our struggles, we could actually feel whole and complete.

I hear too many times, "No one understands me", or "You just won't understand". Although we all struggle with loneliness differently, Jesus knows exactly what it's like to be alone. In His scariest, most vulnerable moments, his friends neglected Him. His closest friends pretended they had know idea who He even was. Amidst the worst hours of His life, His own father had to turn His back because he couldn't bear to see the sins (OURS) His son had taken upon Him. 

Jesus knows what it's like to be alone. Go to Him. Believe in Him. Not the world. 

The world is so, so lonely.

Photography: Amberlee Fletcher; "Lilac Lens Photography"

Summer Makeup: BEAT THE HEAT

What comes to mind when we hear the word Summer? Beaches, tans, smiles, etc. But what we look past is the brutal heat. You can look like Beyonce walking out of your house, but by the time you reach your car, the heat has attacked your makeup. At this point, you're lucky if you're resembling a decent looking clown.

Now for those of us who don't exactly look like Beyonce underneath the makeup, Summer is a rude makeup wipe that we didn't volunteer to use. So how do we beat this? How do we get away from blotting out face or reapplying the makeup every other hour? Less. Is. More.

However, wearing less makeup doesn't necessarily mean you have to look like you are wearing less makeup. Let me share with you some summer makeup tricks to keep your makeup lasting all day.

Face

- Instead of applying your regular foundation, opt for a tinted moisturizer! The foundation you used during the winter months will literally melt off your face in the summer. Therefore, moisturizers are your safest bet! They still have full coverage to even out the skin tone, yet they are of much lighter weight than a regular foundation. This lightweight option leaves your skin looking flawless without the worry of melting off.
- Plus: Tinted moisturizers have SPF, which is very important to protect from the summer sun.

Drugstore vs. High End

1) Sonia Kashuk Radiant: $14

2) Nars Tinted Moisturizer: $42

Blush: Trade the cream or powder blush for a cheek stain! The cream tends to melt/ smear, and the powder will settle in to fine lines the more you sweat. A cheek stain does what it says! It stains the cheek to give a natural flushed tint without the hassle of reapplying.

1) Benefit's Benetint Cheek and Lip Tint: $30

THIS IS THE MVP, I AM NOT EVEN GIVING YOU A DRUGSTORE OPTION.

Eyes

- If you are spending a majority of your Summer day outdoors, waterproof mascara is your safest bet against the heat and sweat. Normal mascara can leave smudges even when you blink due to it's different consistency than waterproof. 

- Again, if a majority of your day will be spent in heat, false lashes are a major "no-no". The glue will melt and the sweat will impede the lashes from sticking to your lids. WE ARE TRYING TO LOOK REAL BY BEING FAKE, SO NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THOSE LASHES POP OFF. HONEY, THE COVER IS BLOWN.

Drugstore vs. High End

1) Benefit They're Real! Waterproof: $12

2) Maybeline Falsies Waterproof: $5

Lips

- Find a good long lasting lip tint- these are everywhere! Lip tints are long lasting and don't dry your lips out like many other 24 hour lipsticks.  I personally am loving Revlon's Just Bitten Lip Tint. It's basically a marker for your lips. No gloss or cream, just a tint that will last through the heat!

1) Revlon Just Bitten Lip Tint: $6

No liners. No powders. No creams. Look for tints and waterproofs for long lasting summer makeup! Go get em ladies.

Gym Bag Essentials

Going to the gym is fun. By fun, I mean it's a horrific experience that requires any form of anything to motivate me. So what does this chick have in her gym bag to get her through? 

LET ME JUST TELL YOU!

1. Shoes

Turns out they are incredible helpful when running. Not only are the a necessity, but these specific Nike's are SO comfortable and not to mention cute. Cute gym clothes are always motivating, right?

 Asking for a friend.

2. Water

Honey, if you only knew how much I sweat during a workout, you would understand the need for my water consumption every two seconds. Not only that, but it's incredibly important to stay hydrated when and when you're not working out! SO MANY BENEFITS. I could talk for days on this, but I'll let you google it.

3. Secret Outlast Deodorant*

Since we are on the topic of my unnatural perspiration (sorry), I have to give a shout out to Secret Outlast, specifically. TALK ABOUT A HOLY GRAIL. I smell like a floral goddess the whole time I'm working out. I don't get pit stains or emotional stains from embarrassment. This stuff must have been created by Jesus himself. I highly recommend. 

4. Headphones

I mentioned in a previous post my hatred for the sound of my breath when working out. I sound like a dying pig rolling in burning rocks and it is horrific and extremely un-motivating. Therefore, I stay cranking the Mulan soundtrack and happily finish my workout.

5. Dry Shampoo

Did I tell you guys about how sweaty I get during a workout? Let me tell you: I get really sweaty. Which means my hair is plastered to my face upon finishing and it isn't one of my best looks. Therefore, if I have somewhere to be after or just want to appear more human- I spray some dry shampoo on my roots and I am good to go!

6. Lastly, up in the right hand corner of my gym bag essentials is a bag of tears

Self explanatory.

*ad