if i had a nickel for everytime a woman said that to me, i’d have a lot of extra $$ to spend!!!!  if i had a dollar for everytime a man said that to me, i’d have about one extra dollar.  little kids don’t say it.  tween and teen girls don’t say it. if you’ve ever followed one on instagram and seen all of the selfies, you KNOW that’s true!!! but that’s a good thing!  i love that!! i pray for those girls that it stays that way for their entire lives. my generation didn’t take nearly as many selfies as this generation, but somewhere along the way most women start to despise getting their photo taken. what is it that causes that? we can point fingers. blame the media and the unattainable, unrealistic images of women that they exploit. we can blame society and all of the pressures they put on women to “have it all” and be perfect in everything we do. heck, we might as well blame the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries while we’re at it, i’m sure they’ve done something!!  but seriously, at some point we need to take some accountability for our own attitudes and beliefs.

maybe we’re not wearing the size we want to be.

maybe we aren’t as fit as we want to be.

maybe our hair or skin isn’t as perfect as it was when we were 24.

maybe if we silenced that inner voice that frankly is being a little rude, and told her that we are beautiful just as we are. maybe she’d listen. maybe she’d start to believe it.

because it’s true.

i had an incredible weekend with some incredible women – some i knew well and some i met that night.  we shared stories about things that were currently inspiring us. the amount of support, love and bravery in that room was overwhelming and it struck me,  if women were as kind to themselves as their friends were, the self-help industry would be completely wiped out. so be kind.  not only to others, but most importantly, to yourself.

 

 

Chicago Portrait Photographer | Chicago Family Photographer | Child Photographer in Chicago | Chicago Photographer of Babies