cynosure

• Every unpleasant situation or emotion is an opportunity for growth. We usually realize that in hindsight (or unfortunately for some of us, never do and keep on complaining), but when we get to the point where we realize, in the middle of the emotion…

     ”Wow… I’m feeling this way because I need to let go of my ego a little bit,”
  “I’m blaming her because I don’t want to admit that my own personality needs work,”
  “I’m afraid of losing him because I still want to be more confident than I am,”

     … then instead of being immobilized by unhappiness or disappointment, we learn, in the moment. We recognize life’s lesson at that present time and if we figure out how, we can grow as remarkable individuals almost right away.

• Whenever you think negatively of someone else, you’re actually thinking negatively of yourself.
• How can you love anyone else if you haven’t even learned how to love the first and only person you’ve lived with for your whole entire life?
• ‎”You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.”
  Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
• I randomly unearthed the skeleton of an unfinished poem from a couple of years ago, scrawled on an index card:
  

     I am Warrior
  I wear my battle scars with pride
  stretch marks on my bosom and
  cellulite on my thighs

• This beautiful video is worth watching, then saving to watch again (& again) on a solitary day:

     The “watch a movie alone” & “take yourself out to dinner” advice is definitely worth taking. Go where YOU want to go, watch what YOU want to watch, & eat what YOU want to eat without having to compromise!

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Look at those tan lines and scars and the weird way my knees bend in (which always bothered me when I was younger because it “looked weird”, but now that I think about it, it’s kind of cool)!

A lot of people search for how to get rid of precious parts of their own beautiful bodies– their cellulite and their stretchmarks– and find my thighs, cellulite, and stretchmarks instead.

90 people have cellulite and/or stretchmarks on their thighs/legs or hips– and want to know how to get rid of it or hide it.

5 people want to know about loving cellulite or their thighs.
3 people don’t care about cellulite.
2 people want to learn about accepting cellulite.
8 people love their thighs/cellulite/stretchmarks.
1 person loves women with cellulite.
3 people love cellulite in general.

1 person says “I love my legs but hate my thighs due to cellulite.” (But your thighs are part of your legs, too. Unless you believe love is about picking and choosing.)
Another 3 people flat out hate their cellulite.

2 people “seem to have cellulite in photos”.

1 person is 6 people are looking for images of beautiful thighs.
1 person is 11 people are looking for beautiful pictures of cellulite or stretchmarks.
1 person is looking for photos of real women with cellulite.
1 person is 2 people are looking for pictures of “thighs and stretchmarks”.
1 person is looking for “real pictures of women with real fat thighs”.

1 person thinks cellulite is hot; another 2 people think cellulite is beautiful.

1 person is looking for a dress for a “fat tummy, broad shoulders, and fat thighs”. Another is looking for a dress for “scars on my shoulders and big legs”.
1 person says, “I fought cellulite.” How can you fight a part of yourself without hurting yourself? Another says “I have too much cellulite”.
1 person says, “I have inherited fat legs from my grandma.”
1 person is searching for “My daughter has cellulite on her belly.” (So?)

1 person asks: “How do I lose my love handles?” (Maybe by taking the first step and loving them for how they are, how you are.)
1 person asks: “Do guys mind excessive stretchmarks, cellulite, and a hairy stomach?” (I can say that I know at least a few guys that don’t!)
1 person wonders “if there’s something wrong with my heart if my thighs get big overnight.”

1 person wonders, “Am I beautiful with stretchmarks?” Yes. Yes you are.
Another person wonders, “Can my cellulite be beautiful?” Yes. Yes it can.

It’s pretty effing ironic that Cynosure is also the name of a cosmetic laser company specializing in liposuction, isn’t it? And here I chose the name because the word cynosure means:

1. An object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration.
2. Something that serves to guide.

(Oh, and I like astrologically-themed titles, and cynosure is another name for the North Star.)

I’m not here to guide you away from hating yourself or being unhappy with your body or rejecting your woman(or man)hood in the form of all-natural (and beautiful, if you let it be) cellulite… if that’s what you want.

But if you do want me to, I’m here to guide you towards loving yourself, choosing happiness, cultivating confidence, personal growth, and realizing you are much, much more than your appearance, body, weight, size, grades, or whatever anyone else thinks of you… oh, and maybe loving others and our planet, too, along the way.

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I can show you the world… of self-love, conscious happiness, positive body image, and more! Don’t miss an update– get them through RSS and follow me on Twitter & Facebook.

Hi.

I’m me.

I’m 5′ 5″, or 165 centimeters. I was, and still am, too short to model, though once upon a time I actually had such a desire. (Nowadays I’m on the other side of the camera, capturing the beauty of others instead.)

I haven’t weighed myself since summer 2007. I don’t even remember how much I weighed back then. Frankly, I don’t care.

I used to cut off the size labels on most of the clothing I wear, but I still remember them. One of my strapless dresses is size large. And a year after I got it and cut off the tag, I really don’t care at all. It’s a versatile dress and the straplessness suits my shoulders well.

I have short legs and wide hips. I love my hips. I am bottom-heavy.

I have stretchmarks and cellulite on my thighs and hips. I have stretchmarks and cellulite on my arms, and my arms are soft and padded. My cellulite is proof that I am woman; I would never want to hide it. I am soft all over; My softness is my womanhood.

I have deep creases in my stomach where my tummy divides into rolls.

I have broad, broad shoulders.

I never shave… anything. My armpits only recently started growing thick, curly hair. My legs have been hairy for years. They’re also covered with scars from mosquito bites.

I have a dent in my jaw from a fall last summer. I have a pimple scar between my eyes. I have an overbite.

I never wear makeup. I wore more makeup when I was 10, trying too hard to grow up, than I do now.

I went to eat dumplings over the summer, and my parents’ friend asked if I liked to eat them frequently. The answer was yes; and her response was “No wonder she’s so fat.” I shrugged it off and laughed and didn’t care at all, and kept on eating those delicious dumplings.

This is me.

I know I am beautiful, and I love myself.

This is me. The cellulite on my thighs, the stretchmarks on my hips.

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Now tell me: What do YOU love about yourself? ♥

I’m happy to be a part of The Exposed Movement, a beautiful movement started by Mish of Eating Journey.

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