The Sarah Diaries: Going Out Of My Comfort Zone

sarah-insta
sarah-insta
Oh the joys of being single on Valentine’s Day! All jokes, or self deprecation aside, today is just another day for me. I’m torn between calling it a “Hallmark Holiday” and some years torture. OK, torture might be a bit extreme. For me, the day has really never mounted to anything special. I’ve been dumped on Valentine’s Day (it’s for the best, I promise!), the third wheel with friends, and spent curled up with Cosita, Hallmark movies (ironically enough), and chocolate! In all honesty, today should be a special day, but it also shouldn’t be the ONLY day you show love to yourself, your S.O., and to others.
Most days, at least for me, showing myself love is the hardest thing imaginable. With that, comes the ability to take our bodies, our “self”, for granted. We forget the sheer ability to wake up in the morning and breathe on our own, walk across the room, drive, sing, write, or do the simplest of tasks are not always a given and guaranteed thing.
Cosmo recently re-shared a link to an article they posted from a year ago. You can read it here (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a55260/why-i-sext-my-best-friends/) The story of a woman and the moment she viewed her “self” differently. It was all a direct link to watching her husband die from cancer. Watching his body go from a fully functionally healthy man to someone who couldn’t walk, run, or breathe on his own. She began seeing her list of flaws differently. She began loving herself for what her body could do, not hating it for what it couldn’t.
 
She also began doing something with some of her single girlfriends – something a little unorthodox (okay, a LOT unorthodox!) They began sexting each other. Nothing dirty, but pictures that embraced who they were as women, and all received responses back that focused on the positive. Things we tend to dislike, or judge, that others view differently. It’s amazing how our mind works like that, isn’t it? We can pick our bodies apart, down to the smallest details, yet look at someone else and see the most beautiful things. Things that are likely close or almost the exact same.
I read the article again last night before heading home. Walked in the studio and if you were listening to Steph, announced I’m going to start sexting my friends. Let me be more specific, a handful of my closest girl friends. Wait, let me be even more specific so you don’t get the wrong idea about me, tasteful photo’s that I wouldn’t be embarrassed if my mother saw.

I hope we’ve all had that moment where, even if we aren’t happy with what we see on the regular, we look at ourselves in the mirror and go “woah, I look good!” If not, my heart breaks for you. I don’t consider myself to be beautiful by societies standards, but I think there are things about me that are. My hope is that while I’m heading out on the road of health and self discovery, that taking the lead from the Cosmo article will aid in that love.
Worse case, it’s an excuse to buy new fun lipstick colors, give my best America’s Next Top Model pose, and give my friends and I something to look back and laugh at when were old.
Cheers!
-Sarah