I don’t know why, but it seems the majority of women I know (in real life and online) struggle with some form of self-image in regards to their bodies. Including me.
“I’m too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too plain, too _______ (fill in the blank with whatever makes you feel not enough).”
In my case, I have always been self-conscious about being “tall and skinny”. I have long legs, long arms, and no curves to speak of. I’m 5’8″ without my boots on and fully dressed I’m lucky to weigh in at 130. Tall and skinny.
In high school, I was the tallest girl I knew. I had the embarrassing honor of having to jump for the ball when I played basketball, just because I was tall… and despite the fact that I could not jump. I was the tallest girl on every starting line at my track meets because “tall girls do distance, not sprints”… I could literally look over everyone’s heads! I always felt like I stood out enough, simply because it was literally true, I was taller than all the other girls, so I didn’t want to stand out in any other way. I wanted to “blend in” as much as possible.
I carried this self-consciousness with me into my adult life, too. I hated when someone would mention how tall I was, as if I was hoping people just didn’t notice. And I always took it as a negative comment no matter what it’s actual intentions.
To get very material and very real, in a world where men are self-proclaimed “boobs or butt” men, I was very aware of the fact that I have neither of those things. It turns out, I was probably just spending time around the wrong “men”.
I’m tall and skinny. I’m a size small in most things (which means my sleeves are never long enough) but need a 36″ inseam in my jeans. I’m still very aware of being “tall and skinny” but I’m learning to be comfortable in my own skin, with my own body. And something I’m learning is that I have the power of providing that comfort or feeding that feeling of being inadequate. And who am I to complain about the way God made me?
Besides, I like tall horses. And we all know longer stirrups come in handy when getting on those tall horses.
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others, you need to accept yourself.
