Celebrating the Perfection in Imperfection
If you're active on social media, you're probably aware that it's "prep season." Maybe you have a friend that's completing. Maybe you're competing! Or, maybe, you're someone who has always dreamed of competing; but, never knew where to start. I love the idea of competing. The process of prep: not so much. As a naturally very competitive person, prep brought out the best AND worst in me. I know, now, that before I step another foot on stage I need to spend a lot of time working on that "picture of stage perfection" I have in my head, and have my mind ready to walk away without so much as a head nod. Until then, I continue like the rest of us, admiring those that are leaning out and glistening with oompa-loompa tans.
Recently, a photo was circulated of Amy Schumer next to a sculpture of Aphrodite. The Instagram account captioned it with:
"What a wonderful resemblance between two beautiful women. So many women and young girls are shamed by the media and fashion industry for not having a flat stomach and not being a size zero.But look, the goddess of beauty is portrayed here with stomach rolls and doesn't have a perfectly smooth, toned body. I want to remind everyone that they do not have to be a Victoria's Secret model to be a beautiful goddess with a beautiful body.”
What a beautiful message! It's true: beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. In both cases, a woman in prep and the average woman are both beautiful. Both are beautiful if they are healthy and happy. [KEY WORDS: Health and Happy] I have seen women in prep over-the-moon about their bodies, and their ability to train like a machine. I have seen large women embrace their curves and celebrate their bodies through various forms of art. These women, no matter their size, are happy! On the flip side: I have heard of women in prep so unhappy with their bodies -some experiencing organ failure due to their diets- that it negatively impacts all areas of their lives. I have seen women choosing poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles, lowering their quality of life as they deal with problem after problem with their physical well-being. In both cases, we have an unhappy woman, no matter the size!
It's easy to get caught up on a magical number produced by a scale, or the size of a waist line. These are instruments of measurement that are easy to grasp, but are unable to take into account the person as a whole. We can become obsessed with "eating clean, and training mean." We can, also, become obsessed with condemning those that do compete, either out of jealousy or in the name of "Feminism." At the end of the day, no matter who we are staring at or shaming for their actions, we ultimately have to like ourselves. We have to be happy with who we are. There is never a one-size-fits-all approach to health. Whether you count macros, eat intuitively, run 5km every morning, lift weights or not: as long as you're active and happy, does it matter how you got there?
I wish I had someone who celebrated the "perfection in imperfection" like Schumer when I was navigating my adolescence. Maybe I would have liked myself better; had higher self-esteem; cared less about counting calories and more about having fun. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have worked so hard to get educated in sports nutrition and physical wellness. At the end of the day, though, it doesn't matter when a movie star looks like, or a sports model. It doesn't matter how many rolls I have, scars I've healed, or pounds I've lost. What matters is that I am healthy and happy.