ear Body,
Since I was a little girl, we’ve always had a complicated relationship. For a long time, it felt like you weren’t a part of me. I glanced at you, and I didn’t feel like you were mine. I didn’t nourish you, I didn’t look at you, and I refused to accept you. I thought it was all your fault—the way people treated me, the way people looked at me. I was ashamed, and I blamed you.
But it never really had anything to do with you; it had everything to do with the constructed beauty norms forced upon women. It took me a long time to understand that.
I’m sorry I put you through so much pain. You’ve never failed me. No matter how many days I let you starve, no matter how much anxiety I put you through, no matter how much I hated you, you never let me down.
The day I realized I needed to make peace with you, my whole life changed.
I love you because, thanks to you, I can run through the grass and feel the sun on my skin. I can dance and let the music transport me. I can laugh until I cry and my stomach hurts. Thanks to you, I can feel my heart beat with every breath I take.
It doesn’t matter what other people think of you. You are unique and beautiful—with your unusual curves, with every stretch mark, with every freckle.
You are my home.
